Culture Shock
by Andi Aradan
Summary: After being thrown through a hole in time-space, Link must briefly adapt to a more modern way of life in order to survive and find his way back to Hyrule to save the life of the Princess he loves.
1. READ THIS FIRST

I think I need to clarify a few things for some of the reviews I've gotten on this story. First off, some of the chapters are short because I decided they're going to be.  
  
If you've never read a book that has some shorter chapters, I suggest anything written by Terry Pratchett. The man doesn't even WRITE chapters. It's laid out in different sections that are sometimes not even a page long. Sometimes chapters are short. I am NOT going to write the chapters long just for the sake of writing them long. I put in a chapter what NEEDS to be in a chapter, and then I start a new one. It's how stories WORK.  
  
Chapters don't have to be at least two thousand words just for the sake of being two thousand words. Or even just to entertain people. Most people who read are good enough to tell when it's necessary for a chapter to be a little short.  
  
Therefore, I come to the main point of this notes section:  
  
This is my story.  
  
I'm going to write it how I want.  
  
Sometimes chapters are going to be short.  
  
Sometimes they'll be long.  
  
And as the readers, you have two options.  
  
1 - Deal with it.  
  
2 - Go read something else.  
  
And this over, I state that I truly hope you enjoy this fictional work for what it is...entertainment. It isn't meant to be a Shakespearean epic. It's not meant to be of the quality of the Illiad. It's not even meant to come close to some of the fanfiction works I've read before. It was a project, a work of pure fun for me. As such, it's come close to being the equivalent of putting my heart on paper. So please. Be kind to my work. Be kind to everyone's work. The authors here who work so hard to give you quality fiction to enjoy deserve kind, well-thought out reviews.  
  
And we appreciate them when they arrive.  
  
And one more note: Kate and Link are NOT a thing. They are not going to be a thing. John is Kate's thing. Zelda is Link's thing. Link and Zelda, in my fiction, are ALWAYS going to be a thing. (Aside from the rare AU Link/Sheik short I might write.) Andi is a classic romanticist, and Andi insists that in her fiction, the Hero wins his Princess.  
  
It is the way of things, according to Andi's brain. 


	2. Act 1, Chapter 1

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act I-  
  
A Twist of Fate  
  
1  
  
Link…the voice came from nowhere and everywhere all at once, Link, help me…please…Link…  
  
There was a horrified scream, and then the voice was gone. The Hero of Time sat bolt upright in his bed, a cry of horror dying in his throat. He got up, threw his clothes on, and tore out of his home in Kokiri Forest in the dead of night.  
  
Link rode Epona nearly to death, desperately trying to get to Hyrule Castle as soon as possible. He reached the castle drawbridge right at daybreak, spurring the frightened horse to leap over the gap between the bridge and the moat even before the bridge was completely extended. Not even bothering to dismount so he could lead his mount carefully through Hyrule Castle Town, Link rode straight through, dodging the village's barely-awake inhabitants in his mad dash for the castle.  
  
He rode right past startled guards, who opened the gate in the nick of time before being plowed under the horse's furiously beating hooves. Link yanked the lathered horse to a stop in front of the palace itself, handing her reins off to a startled guard who just watched as Link slammed his fists against the heavy wooden doors of the castle, storming in without so much as a look at the sentries inside. He stomped up to the throne, and bowed shortly to King Jiro, who sat disconsolately on his throne with a delicate golden crown dangling from his fingertips. He then turned to Impa, the princess' handmaiden and constant companion since childhood. "Where is she?" Link demanded curtly.  
  
"We don't know," Impa replied sadly. The Sage of Shadow shook her head wearily. "The Sages' combined power is unable to locate the Princess of Destiny. You must find her," the Sheikah woman murmured urgently. "She is in grave danger. Her very life is at stake."  
  
Link sniffed. It wasn't exactly a surprise.  
  
Impa's perpetual scowl deepened, as if she could read his thoughts. Which, Link guessed, probably wasn't far from the truth, what with the whole Sage thing. "Think hard about this, Hero of Time," she warned. "Should the King of Evil have found a way to breach the seal on his prison, he may very well take his vengeance on the life of Princess Zelda. You cannot take this lightly, Link. If his mind has been eroded enough, he may just do the unthinkable."  
  
She paused, and let the implications sink in.  
  
"He may kill Princess Zelda." 


	3. Act 1, Chapter 2

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act I-  
  
A Twist of Fate  
  
2  
  
After hearing Impa's grim foreshadowing, Link went straight to the Hylian military headquarters to see a friend. He stalked right into the military barracks, surprising several soldiers into attention. He waved them off and strode purposefully into the office of the commanding general of the Hylian Army, his longtime friend, General Kiron. "I take it you've seen Impa," Kiron said gravely after seeing the look on his friend's face.   
  
Link scowled. "It's almost like she's vanished off the face of the earth, this time. The Sages can't even make heads or tails of it." He shook his head. "I don't like it."  
  
"I'm not overfond of it, either. How can we help, my friend?"  
  
Link thought for a moment. "Have you got a map?"  
  
Kiron nodded, and pulled out a large, rolled-up parchment which he opened and laid flat on the table in front of him. In the center was a large diagram of the Kingdom of Hyrule, with the large field in the middle, and the surrounding settlements and districts laid out in color. "What do you need?"  
  
"Search parties," Link replied shortly, "and lots of them." Then, he started pointing. "Send an expedition up to the top of Death Mountain. Talk to Darunia. I know he's the Fire Sage, but he still keeps his place in Goron City in case of visitors. He'll find Goron Tunics for your people so they won't burn up in the crater. Send them all over that mountain, Kiron, and don't leave any stone unturned. Stick them in the Fire Temple-yes, I know it hasn't been used for years, but put them there anyway.  
  
"Send people to Kakariko Village, and start asking the villagers questions. They're not friendly to the point of going out of their way to talk to you, but they won't run and hide, either. They'll tell you what you need to know. And get the Lens of Truth from my saddlebags and send a search party inside the Shadow Temple. And please tell them to be careful. That place is dangerous." Link sighed. "I almost killed myself in there. It's damned near impossible to get through that thing without the Lens of Truth. Make sure they have it." Link squinted thoughtfully.   
  
"See if you can get a few soldiers to go to Kokiri Forest unobtrusively. No uniforms, no weapons. The people there are willing to help, but they're distrustful of outsiders, too. Just be nice. They're innocent, but they will tell you if they've seen anything. Send a small party in through the Lost Woods, to the Forest Temple, too. It's tricky, but not impossible to navigate. Ask Saria.  
  
"Find some Zora Tunics and head for the Water Temple. And while we're on the subject of water, send some people over to Zora's Domain (Thank the Goddesses it finally thawed out) and ask King Zora if he's seen anything." Link paused for a moment.   
  
"Are we still on good terms with the Gerudos?" he asked next.  
  
Kiron laughed shortly. "If by 'good terms' you mean that they've stopped arresting our trade caravans and diplomatic convoys, yes," he said. "But they're never gonna be overtly friendly."  
  
"Close enough. Send some people down to the Valley and ask them what they've seen. If they give you any hassle, have them come talk to me. Take a convoy out through the Haunted Wasteland-believe me, it sounds worse than it is, just follow the flags-and fish around in the Spirit Temple. I want your men scouring the entire world if they have to." He frowned. "Did I miss anything?"  
  
Kiron didn't answer right away. "No, not that I can think of. Don't worry so much," he said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, "if she's anywhere in Hyrule, she'll be found."  
  
Link nodded. "I'll be out looking, myself, Kiron. Tell your people to stay out of my way," he said grimly. "They're not going to want to be in my path if I find out anything's happened to her."  
  
"I'll inform the troops." Kiron smiled. "They'll all make sure to be far, far away from you just in case anything happens." Kiron was silent, but Link knew his friend well enough to see that he had something else on his mind.  
  
"Is there anything you wanted to tell me?" he asked quietly.  
  
Kiron struggled with it, wondering if he should bother the Hero of Time with such aggravating news. Do I tell him? Finally, he did. "Some of Jiro's nobles are blaming you, Link," he muttered darkly.  
  
Link shot to his feet from the stool he'd been sitting on. "What?!" he bellowed, livid. His mouth moved, but no sound came out, and his face just got redder and redder.  
  
"Calm down, Link." Kiron said, realizing that he shouldn't have said anything.  
  
"Calm down?" Link echoed, his fists clenched. "Calm down?" His face was getting redder by the minute.  
  
"Yes. Calm down."  
  
"How dare they?! After everything-who is it?" he asked, dreadfully quiet. "Who said it? I'd like to have a word with them…in a dark alley someplace." It was grated through clenched teeth.  
  
"Oh, please, boy," the grizzled general growled. "These are the same stuffed-shirt idiots who went into collective apoplexy the first time you brought the princess back, remember?"  
  
Ah, yes. Link did remember. When Zelda had been taken hostage by the evil sorcerer Ganon, the Kingdom of Hyrule had spiraled immediately down into collective panic. Jiro, the king, had naturally sent the nobles, knights, and lords of his court out to search for her, but as it usually goes, the nobles had all gotten so soft from years of peace and prosperity that not a single one of them was willing to risk his life to save the princess. Upon realizing that his court was full of cowards and there was not a thing he could do about it, Jiro upped the reward for his daughter's return to an excess of half the kingdom.  
  
Enter Link. Without a thought to himself, the fearless fourteen-year-old trudged up Death Mountain to Spectacle Rock, blasted open the entrance and made his way into the dark dungeon to do battle with Ganon himself. Equipped with nothing more than a standard large shield and the Magical Sword he obtained from a wizard on Death Mountain Trail, he single-handedly felled Ganon and saved the day. Kiron chuckled to himself as he remembered the reactions of the so-called nobles and lords on the fateful day when Link had come traipsing into the throne room of Hyrule Castle with the princess in tow.  
  
Already deafening, the howls of protest and greedy anguish grew to ear-splitting levels when the "nobles" all realized that Link was not willing to accept any reward. He took the princess home, and without so much as an extra rupee to his name, disappeared back to his simple home in an obscure corner of the massive Kokiri Forest. Kiron was sure that Link had probably been able to hear the nobles' screams from his forest home.  
  
"You still remember that, huh?" Link smiled, his anger subsiding.  
  
Kiron laughed outright. "How could I forget?" he asked, still chuckling. "I think the screams from those numbwits could be heard from the top of Death Mountain to the bottom of Lake Hylia. You didn't happen to hear them from Kokiri Forest, did you?"  
  
Link laughed. "I think I might have."  
  
Kiron laughed with him, and then both men grew sober once more. "You don't have to worry, Link," Kiron repeated his earlier statement. "If she's anywhere in Hyrule, we'll find her."  
  
"If one rock anywhere looks out of place, tell me immediately," Link emphasized. "She's not gonna slip through my fingers again." 


	4. Act 1, Chapter 3

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act I-  
  
A Twist of Fate  
  
3  
  
Three days later, Link was back in Kiron's office, pumping the general for information. "No, Link, we don't have anything as of right now. I told you we'd let you know if we got anything."  
  
"Nothing at all?" Link felt his hopes being dashed to pieces.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Link sighed and flopped down into the chair across the desk from Kiron, who sat also. "Your own search hasn't gone well, I take it?"  
  
"No," Link said wearily. "And that's what bothers me. Usually I've found some clue, no matter how small, that winds up leading me to wherever he'd taken her. Now? Not a thing. It's never taken three days before."  
  
Kiron didn't say anything. He knew who the "he" Link had mentioned was. Ganondorf. No one in Hyrule could say the name without shuddering. Ganon, Ganondorf, King of Evil, it was all the same. The Gerudo King was the scourge of the entire land until Link had come along, saving the Kingdom from the overconfident menace on several occasions. Kiron smiled inwardly. No wonder the people loved him. "Have your rancher friends helped at all?"  
  
Talon and Malon, the proprietor and proprietor's daughter at LonLon Ranch, and good friends of Link for a very long time, were a good source of information for the Kingdom, and were always glad to help out whenever help was needed. Link shook his head. "No. They haven't seen anything."  
  
"Ah. I understand the frustration, my friend. Actually, you're the second person to come in here asking about the princess."  
  
"King Jiro?"  
  
"No, actually. The first was Impa. She said that you were…unprepared for what might lie ahead, and she wanted to make sure that everything was being done as fast as it could without endangering you unnecessarily."  
  
The Hero of Time blinked in surprise. "That's a first," he said. "Usually, Impa's the first one to shove me out the door and send me off to go find the princess. Now she's concerned for my welfare?"  
  
"Actually," Kiron noted dryly, "I think she was more concerned for what might happened to Hyrule if anything should happen to you."  
  
"Oh." Link knew that it couldn't have been that easy.   
  
He seemed ready to say something more when a soldier, red-faced and exhausted, came tearing in, panting from the apparent excitement he'd been involved in, his red hair plastered to his forehead with his sweat. The youngish lieutenant saluted sharply to Kiron, and turned to Link, bowing quickly as he tried to catch his breath.  
  
"What is it, Joreth?" Kiron asked urgently.  
  
"M'Lord," Joreth gasped, handing a rumpled, dusty piece of parchment to Link. "This was found by one of the search parties up Death Mountain. We thought it priority, and came straight back to deliver it."  
  
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Link said, taking the parchment from the tired soldier. As he read, however, the sudden look of hope on his face changed to one of towering fury. He stood up, let the paper flutter to the ground, and turned a suddenly baleful eye on Kiron. "Call them back," he said crisply.  
  
"What?" Kiron asked in shock. Surely whatever was written on that parchment couldn't have been that bad.  
  
"Call all the search parties back. I have to go, now."  
  
Without another word, Link stomped out of Kiron's office, leaving a wake of near-tangible hostility behind.  
  
Kiron stared in disbelief for a moment, then bent down to retrieve the paper from where it had fallen. As he read, he began to understand Link's overpowering rage.  
  
"I write this letter in somewhat desperate circumstances. I have been taken against my will from my chambers at Hyrule Castle. I am entirely in the dark as to where my assailants are taking me, as they keep me blindfolded every day. It was with some difficulty that I was able to commandeer this single piece of parchment one night and write this somewhat disheartening letter. Oh, Link, I'm so frightened. They keep my eyes covered all day, and only uncover them at night, when they think I'm asleep. I am not sure, but I think I am being taken to the summit of Death Mountain-wait, no, I'm being taken to Spectacle Rock-I just overheard one of them say it.   
  
I'm so scared. I keep hearing snatches of conversation that include titles such as 'the Dark Lord', 'Prince of Darkness', and even 'King of Evil'. Oh, what if it is true? That somehow they've managed to break the seal on the Dark One's prison, and somehow Ganondorf has escaped? It can only mean disaster for my Kingdom.  
  
Oh, Link, please hurry. Every pace nearer to the final horrid destination is another piece of a nightmare coming true. But I know you will come for me, and I await your courageous entrance with every fibre in my being.   
  
Please hurry.  
  
~Zelda, Princess of Hyrule"  
  
On the reverse side of the princess' frantic message was another, more foreboding message that made Kiron's blood run cold as he read it.  
  
  
  
"Hail, thou Hero of Time. Long have I awaited my triumphal return to the land that so rudely spurned my rule. But now, my time has come, at last. My faithful servants have broken the seal on the accursed Realm of Evil, and I am free once again to fulfill the promise I made when the...Great Sages...sent me hurtling into the godsforsaken pit. I will exact my revenge on thy dear princess, and thou wilt watch every second...  
  
I await thy arrival in the ancient caverns at Spectacle Rock, when I will destroy thy beloved Kingdom of Hyrule piece...by painful, excruciating piece. Thee and thine are doomed, boy.  
  
Eagerly I await thee. Come alone, boy, otherwise, I shall destroy the Princess of Destiny sooner than I had planned. If thou darest to come with others, the princess herself will pay for thy foolishness.  
  
Hail, and farewell.  
  
-Ganondorf  
  
Prince of Darkness,  
  
Lord of Chaos  
  
King of Evil"  
  
Kiron turned to glare at Joreth. "Well? What are you waiting for?" he barked at the startled young lieutenant. "You have your orders. Carry them out!"  
  
Joreth turned and bolted from the room. 


	5. Act 1, Chapter 4

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act I-  
  
A Twist of Fate  
  
4  
  
Link headed straight for the palace stables where Epona sat ready and waiting. As he adjusted the packs on her saddle, he heard footsteps in the doorway and didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. "I was wondering when you would come, Holy Sage," he said to Impa.  
  
The Sage of Shadow smiled. "I knew someone had to see you off," she said in her ever-quiet voice. I brought you something, Hero," she said , and it was then that Link turned to face her. What he saw was a cloth-covered bundle, small and round.  
  
He took it from her and unwrapped the Ocarina of Time, the Hylian royal family's secret treasure, guarded and handed down through the line for generations. He just looked at it for a moment, not speaking.  
  
"I give this to you with specific orders from the princess herself," Impa said then. "She told me that should anything happen to her, this was the first thing you were to be given. I tell you, young sir," Impa hesitated, "I don't know that it'll help you along your way on this quest."  
  
"What?" he asked intently. "What have you seen, Impa? Tell me," he begged.  
  
"I cannot. Though the Sages may see the future, it is unwise, even forbidden to reveal it to any," Impa said, and Link knew instantly that she was not fond of that rule. "I will tell you that this journey will be unlike any you've ever faced," Impa told him, edging around giving him direct information, "and that your previous travels and quests will not aid you where you must go."  
  
"Can you tell me anything?"  
  
"I see great pain," she said, a frown creasing her smooth forehead, "and stars falling from the heavens. I see death, and I see destruction. But I also see light and hope and promise. I know it will be difficult for you, young Hero of Time, but I am also sure that you can overcome. Never forsake your friends," she said insistently. "When you find those you can trust, keep them close, and you'll never be defeated. Trust your instincts, boy. Don't ever surrender." She paused, thinking. "And, as always, I warn you; be ready for anything."  
  
Link regarded her calmly for a moment, then swung up into the saddle. As he walked the steed out into the bright sunlight, he smiled briefly, saluting the Sheikah woman. "I always am," he said, and then he dug his heels into Epona's flanks, and rode away, leaving only a solitary trail of dust to mark his passing.  
  
And Impa watched him go. "The Goddesses go with you, boy."   
  
Link rode steadily across Hyrule field, reaching Kakariko Village around mid-afternoon. He dismounted and led Epona hastily through the village, not stopping to speak to anyone except to purchase some bombs from a shop near the start to Death Mountain Trail. Once past the village, he got back on the horse and spurred her into a light but fast run up the mountain, not even slowing as Epona trampled over the occasional Tektite, and smoothly avoiding the boulders that frequently rolled down the side of the peak. Upon reaching Spectacle Rock, Link blasted open the entrance to the cavern, tied Epona's reins to a small outcropping, and descended into the darkness. 


	6. Act 1, Chapter 5

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act I-  
  
A Twist of Fate  
  
5  
  
The first thing he did was light the torches inside the entrance.  
  
The second thing he did as draw the Master Sword from its sheath. Arming himself, Link stepped through the first doorway, and was immediately locked in by the iron bars that slid down over the door with a loud thud. Two Stalfos warriors leapt out of the floor and came straight for Link. He swore, and started wishing he'd been able to find Navi, his pint-sized companion fairy since childhood, but strangely enough, she was nowhere to be found, and with the princess' urgent letter, there hadn't really been time to look. He gritted his teeth and homed in on one of the hideously grinning skeletal warriors, raising the Mirror Shield barely in time to deflect a blow that could have decapitated him.   
  
The Stalfos leapt back and then forward, but link was ready. He swept the Master Sword out in a broad arch that relieved the first ghoulish creature of its legs. The conglomeration of bones and rusted bits of armor tumbled to the floor in a garish heap.  
  
The other Stalfos laughed once, a soulless sound, full of an unearthly hunger, and leapt for Link. The Shield once again came up to deflect the blow, but the rusted sword of his opponent glanced off and nicked Link's shoulder, drawing blood.  
  
Link ignored it, and dispatched the second Stalfos with barely more difficulty than he had the first. The bars on the door raised up and away, and Link progressed into the next room, where two Lizalfos waited for him. Barking their unintelligible war cry, the first came darting up to Link, slashing a deep cut in his leg before he could get the shield up to protect himself. He gritted his teeth and eradicated the first scaly assailant, then making short work of the second, but not before receiving another cut, this time to his left arm. Link ignored it, did the best he could to staunch the flow of blood and continued on his way. After detonating a bomb in front of a Beamos statue, Link was rewarded by a small treasure chest dropping from the ceiling. As he moved over to open it, something struck him in the back, burning. He whirled around, blade flashing, to knock a Keese bat from the air.  
  
"Damn bats," he muttered sourly, grimacing from the burn. Seeing two more of the flaming Keese, he set an arrow to his bow, aimed, and took both out with one shot. Opening the chest, he retrieved the small silver key that was inside, walked over to the far side of the room, and unlocked the door. Stepping through, he heard an awful roar. Link looked down, and saw the small holes in the floor, and cursed. There was a second roar, and a large head with glowing protrusions at its brow came forth, opening a mouth with many needle-sharp teeth.  
  
Pulling itself free from the hole in the large platform (that suddenly seemed not all too large to Link), the great lava dragon, Volvagia, let out another earsplitting roar along with a blast of nuclear-hot flame, and buried itself in another hole after soaring around the suddenly all-too-small room. Link sighed, drew forth the Megaton Hammer, and went to work. When the subterranean lizard raised its head to sear him, Link ran forward, ignoring the whipping sting of the lash-like strings of fire on the dragon's brow, he swung the Hammer as hard as he could to land a solid blow on the creature's nose. It reared up, bellowing not in rage now, but in intense pain. It sank back into the hole from whence it sprung, reappearing to soar out of the hole in a fit of blinded rage.  
  
Link dashed to the edge of the platform, where he carefully climbed off the top, clinging bat-like to the side as he waited for the angry beast to stop seeking its target. With a roar of denied hunger, the dragon soared around the room, and upon finding its target apparently gone, swung down and around into another hole. Link hauled himself back up, and pulled forth the Megaton once more, bashing the creature's nose the second its head came up out of the ground. It reared back, whipping Link's legs with its long, fiery ears, and sank once more into the lava. When it emerged next, it flew up near the ceiling, giving a great cry that dislodged several stones form the roof. They crashed to the ground, and Link bit back a curse as one slammed into his back. He dropped to the ground and covered his head with the Mirror Shield, and waited for the crashing to subside. It eventually did, and with his ears ringing, Link got back to work. The process of the big reptile's destruction was repeated until finally it crashed to the ground to move no more. Breathing hard, Link put away the Megaton Hammer and started to limp to the room's exit. Before he could, a large, ornate chest in blue and gold appeared in a flash of golden light. He heaved it open and pulled the Boss Key from inside, walking away.   
  
Two rooms later, past three Armos, two more Beamos, five Keese, and another Lizalfos, Link found the large, ornate door that he knew Ganondorf waited behind.  
  
He put the Boss Key in the lock, twisted the ruby-set key, and discarded the open lock. He stepped into the dimly lit but large room, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. "Welcome, Hero of Time," Ganondorf's sneering voice floated out of the dim, "and enjoy your stay."  
  
Link took another step into the chamber, and was promptly slammed into the ground as something large, blunt, and unseen crashed into his back. He got up, brushed the dust from his tunic, and sighed. It was definitely going to be a long day. "Are you that much of a coward?" Link asked, simply, but insinuating much more than one could tell from his words.  
  
The insult got the attention of his nemesis rather quickly. Ganondorf flashed into being, and smiled at Link.   
  
It wasn't pretty.   
  
Link just glared at him and the tip of the Master Sword came up, slowly and deliberately calm.  
  
Ganondorf just walked around Link in a calm, smug circle. "So…you came after all…the Triforce of Courage must spur you on stronger than I thought. It will do you no good, boy. Hyrule is still mine."  
  
"You'll go through me first," Link growled, and suddenly he leapt at Ganondorf, sword held high. Ganondorf sidestepped the deadly thrust easily, and lashed out with a foot instead, sending the Hero of Time flying across the chamber to hit the wall with a sickening thud. He felt something in his right arm snap, and cursed his rash movements as he pulled himself up off the ground. Ganondorf laughed mockingly.   
  
"You're out of practice, boy," he said, and thrust his open hand forward, catapulting a beam of pure darkness right at Link's head. Link dove forward and rolled across the stone floor as the beam created a smoking crater in the wall where his head had been, the Master Sword whistling as it carved a wide, deadly arc through the air and right across Ganondorf's midsection. The King of Evil gasped as the cold steel raked a deep gash across his stomach.   
  
He swung a fist as Link once more, but the Hylian moved deftly out of the way. He sat one of the deadly Arrows of Light to his bow, took aim, and shot it directly at Ganondorf. The evil sorcerer bellowed in pain as the glowing projectile sank into his chest, sinking to his knees as he grasped at the arrow's feathered shaft, which he yanked gruesomely out of his dead-black armor. Link smiled grimly as he took another swing at the dark lord. "Who's out of practice?" he snarled as the Master Sword bit into Ganondorf's flesh a second time.  
  
Ganondorf was not to be done in so easily, however, for as Link backed away, the villain thrust a fist into the Hero of Time's stomach, and Link went down gasping for air. Ganondorf stood, towering over the young hero, smiling evilly. He balled his fists together, and even as Link tried to pull himself up off the ground, Ganondorf brought his hands sharply down in a blow that sent Link sprawling onto his face against the cold, hard stone floor. He didn't move for a moment, just lay there, trying to clear the stars from his vision.   
  
Get up, Hero of Time, a voice said to him from within the darkness. He cannot defeat thee if thou art courageous!  
  
Rauru's encouragement came not a moment too soon. Buoyed up by the confidence placed in him by the Sage of Light, indeed, all of the Sages, Link grunted as he pushed himself up off the ground, retrieved the Master Sword from where it had fallen, and turned to face Ganondorf once more, his face set in a grim resolve. "Back for more, boy?" the foul conqueror asked snidely.  
  
"Come and get me," Link retorted.  
  
Ganondorf leapt for Link's throat, but the valiant lad swept the rush aside with the Mirror Shield, and his leg shot out. He booted Ganondorf in the rear, sending the Gerudo flying to land in an undignified heap on the far side of the room.  
  
Ganondorf stood up and turned to face Link, wiping away a trickle of blood from his lower lip, split in the fall. "You're cocky, boy," he growled menacingly.  
  
"And you're overconfident," Link snapped back. "Where does that leave us?"  
  
Ganondorf then made a fatal error. He raised both his hands in the air, dark energy swirling around his fingertips. Link's eyes widened in shock for a moment, then he realized what he had to do. Drawing one of the Light Arrows from his quiver, he aimed it directly for the black heart of Ganondorf Dragmire.  
  
He let go.  
  
With deadly accuracy, the glowing golden missile whistled through the air, striking its target with perfect accuracy as it pierced the black armor.  
  
Ganondorf's eyes widened, and one hand went to where the second arrow's feathered end protruded from his chest. He stared at it in surprise, not really realizing right away what it meant.  
  
Then, as the shock faded, Ganondorf fell to the ground, muttering curses at the man who had just killed him. Link, who had resheathed the Master Sword in his mad dash to shoot the Arrow of Light, unsheathed it and walked slowly over to the fallen Gerudo, with the sword held tightly in his left hand. The mark of the Triforce of Courage started to glow with a fierce, burning golden light as he stepped closer to his enemy, as did the Triforce of Power's crest on Ganondorf's hand.  
  
"You know," Link observed in a detached sort of way as Ganondorf lay bleeding on the stonework, "I don't think you'd expect that I'd be the type of person who'd stab a man in the back." He shook his head. "But in your case? I think I'll make an exception."  
  
And with an uncharacteristic roar of rage, he reversed the hilt of the Master Sword, bringing it down sharply into the back of Ganondorf, King of Evil.  
  
The villain let out a long, rattling sigh, and then ceased to move.  
  
Even in death, however, Link couldn't help but notice the strange look of triumph on his enemy's face.  
  
That thought passed quickly from his mind as another, more powerful one took its place, taking precedence over all his pain. Zelda…  
  
He cleaned his blade on the fallen conqueror's tunic, sheathed it, and reslung the Mirror Shield over his back. Turning somewhat gingerly, Link limped through the door on the far side of the room, to enter a dimly lit hallway. Even compared to Ganondorf's chamber, the hallway was badly lit, and Link had to work his way along, using only the wall as a guide. Eventually, the corridor started to lighten, and Link was able to remove his hand from the wall, which was damp from the Goddesses only knew what, and move silently through.   
  
Voices echoed down to his ears.  
  
A woman weeping, and a man laughing, a sound full of mocking derision.  
  
The woman's was chillingly familiar.  
  
Link rounded a corner, and saw a sight that nearly made his heart stop.  
  
The same lieutenant that had delivered the princess' frantic letter was now standing outside Zelda's cell, laughing evilly in a tone that made Link's blood boil. He came up on them, and the laughter died away as the traitorous soldier saw who stood in the hallway with him.  
  
"You?" he cried, voice somewhat choked. "Wh-you're supposed to be dead!"  
  
Link smiled grimly. "Forget it," he snapped, drawing his sword slowly as he advanced on the traitor.  
  
"Where is Lord Ganondorf?" the felon had the nerve to ask next.  
  
Link just looked at him derisively for a moment before answering. "Dead," he said shortly. "I sent him back to hell."  
  
"No!" he cried.  
  
"Yes," Link said calmly. "Care to join him?"  
  
With that, the murderous man leapt at Link, uttering a shrill cry as he drew his sword. He slashed downward, striking a lucky blow across Link's leg. This only strengthened the Hylian's resolve, and before long, the Hero of Time had the turncoat backed into a corner. "Why?" Link grated through clenched teeth, the Master Sword at the defector's throat.  
  
"You've had the Triforce of Courage in your grasp for so long," he rasped, "if only you'd use it! You could have the whole world in the palm of your hand! Why won't you use it? You could have been truly great! Why?"  
  
Link sighed, and sheathed his sword. "If you have to ask," he said sadly, "then you'll never really know. Power is nothing without the Courage to do what is right and the Wisdom to know what right is," he said, repeating a phrase taught to him by Rauru a few years before.  
  
And with those words, he turned his back on the deserter.  
  
It turned out to be a near-fatal mistake, for it was only a shouted warning from Zelda that Link saved his own life. As she cried out, Link drew his sword and whirled, all in one fluid motion, to send the traitor to hell on the heels of his master as Link ran him through. He sighed, shaking his head sadly. "Damned fool," he muttered.  
  
After that, there was silence for a moment, while Link struggled to catch his breath. "Stand back," he warned, and the princess stepped to the far corner of her cell. Link took the Master Sword by the blade, and swung the hilt as hard as he could into the heavy iron lock that held the door to the princess' chamber closed, and the lock fell to the floor with a loud, echoing crash. Link opened the door and staggered into the cell as he felt his head start to swim. He stared blearily at her. "Hi," he said weakly. His vision blurred, and he sank to his knees as his weariness and battered state finally caught up with him.   
  
Zelda took a joyful step forward, but when she saw the condition of her savior, she gasped, and a hand flew to her mouth as her eyes grew wide in horror.  
  
"No…" she whispered even as he started to fall.  
  
Bruised, battered, burnt, and bleeding, he collapsed backward, but she was there. Zelda cradled Link's head tenderly in her lap, tears coming to her eyes. "Are you all right?" she asked quickly.  
  
He grasped to her hand, fighting to stay conscious. "I will be once I know you're safe," he said weakly.  
  
"Forget it," she retorted. "I'm not leaving here without you."  
  
"Don't, Princess," he muttered. "If you're out of danger, I don't matter."  
  
"But-I can't leave you here-I won't!" she cried hysterically, her sobs wracking her slender frame.  
  
"You have to," he said, coughing hoarsely. "I won't let you stay. You're in danger every moment that you linger. You have people to worry about…your father's going out of his mind…"  
  
"But-what about you?"  
  
"I don't matter. I've only ever had one purpose…that's to keep you safe and out of danger…"  
  
"You mean-that's the only reason you came?"  
  
Even in his condition, Link still sensed the possible disappointment in her voice. So he decided that there was only one way he could make her leave. "It is my duty, Princess, you know that. Now go on," he said, "make sure your people don't have to mourn their princess."  
  
She stood, stung by the coolness of his declaration. Just his duty, she thought sourly. She couldn't have known that it hurt him just as bad to have to say it. She took one last chance, throwing the words at him. "They'll mourn you, you idiot!" she cried, tears streaming freely down her face.  
  
"Nonsense," he whispered. "I'm just a…I don't matter, Princess. Go home, and I'll know I've done my duty. Please be safe."  
  
She stared at him brokenly as he slipped away. "Fine," she sobbed, "your duty is done, Hero of Time," she cried, bitter from his words.  
  
There was a low, menacing laugh, and Ganondorf's voice floated down out of the foreboding darkness. "Thus, even in my phantom's demise, I triumph! Look long and hard at your Hero of Time for this moment, Princess, for you will never see him again!"  
  
With another bout of horrid, frightening laughter, a frigid gust of wind sprang up, and all the torches in the dungeon went out. The terrified princess stood stock-still for a moment, not daring even to breathe. "Link?" she asked timidly of the darkness, but there was no reply. The torches sprang to life without warning, and Zelda jumped. She looked around the chamber, but the only other person in the room was the soldier who Link had run through.   
  
The Hero of Time was gone.  
  
Vanished completely.  
  
Zelda was alone.  
  
She took one last, desperate look around the chamber, and then she fled. 


	7. Act 1, Chapter 6

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act I-  
  
A Twist of Fate  
  
6  
  
Zelda ran, and she didn't stop until she was out in the bright, noonday sunlight outside the entrance to Spectacle Rock. She saw Epona standing patiently next to the cavern, and threw herself against the steed, sobbing uncontrollably. Epona seemed to understand the Princess' deep emotions, for she didn't move. The calm horse just nickered once, seeming to say 'it's all right, I'm here for you.' She tossed her head, mane flying in the sun. Epona suddenly stared to paw the ground anxiously.  
  
Zelda dried her eyes, sensing the evils that lurked all too often in the shadows that constantly pervaded Death Mountain. She rubbed the horse's neck comfortingly. "How about it, girl?" she asked. "Don't suppose I can talk you into letting me ride you, huh?" she waited, but there was not even so much as a whinny of a response. Feeling somewhat like disaster was slowly closing in, Zelda tried again. "Look, I'm sorry, but he's not coming back. I'm all you've got until you can go back to Malon. Let me take you away from this mountain. You'll be a lot happier. Besides…I think there might be some carrots and apples in the palace stables with your name on them…" she promised, and there was an acquiescing whinny from the chestnut mare. Zelda smiled, and climbed into Epona's saddle. Spurring the horse on, she rode at breakneck speeds down Death Mountain Trail, not even stopping as she tore through Kakariko Village, doing her best to ignore the whispers and pointing fingers once the residents saw who sat astride Epona's saddle.  
  
Zelda rode straight through the village. Ignoring the bridge across the river outside Kakariko, she made Epona leap across the small stream, and rode right over the Hyrule Castle Drawbridge. She slowed the steed to a walk, and rode, back straight, face imperiously calm, through the crowds of startled inhabitants. The looks of happy surprise on the faces of her subjects became looks of confusion, and even near panic when they realized Link was not with her. That fact tore at her heart, though Zelda did not show it. She rode through, and stopped at the castle gates. She stared down coldly at the guard on duty, who was standing there staring at her in open shock. When the gate was not immediately opened, her glare became icy. "Open the gate," she said dangerously.  
  
The soldier was too much in shock to comply, and so Zelda got even more deadly. "I am not accustomed to having to repeat myself," she grated quietly.  
  
The gates were opened.  
  
Zelda rode up to the front door of the castle, dismounted, and left Epona's reins in the hands of a stunned groom who was so unable to respond that the reins just lay in his open palm as Zelda strode past. She walked into the throne room dignified and every inch a princess. Her father shot from the throne to meet her, eyes wide and face pale as Zelda walked in. "My child…" he whispered, and the moment their eyes locked, Zelda collapsed in his arms, weeping brokenly.   
  
"Where is Link?" he asked finally.  
  
Zelda shuddered as she looked up at him with sad blue eyes, and told him. "He vanished," she sobbed. "He was there, and he saved me, and then he wasn't…Ganondorf said that I'd n-never s-see him ag-again," she sobbed. "I tried to save him, but he wouldn't let me…said he wasn't important as long as I was safe…I tried, I tried, I tried…" finally Zelda's words descended into unintelligible, silent sobs that shook her entire body.  
  
Her father, however, had focused on a different part. "His last thoughts were of you…" the king whispered. Boy, what a son-in-law he'd make… 


	8. Act 1, Chapter 7

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act I-  
  
A Twist of Fate  
  
7  
  
Days passed, and then weeks, a full month crawling slowly by with no trace found of the Hero of Time. During the crawling interval of time, Zelda rarely left her apartments in the castle, only appearing to hear General Kiron's progress in his search for Link, and sometimes to eat, though she rarely did that, either. King Jiro was going insane with the worry; both for his daughter, and for the hero she was so deeply in love with, yet would never admit. If Link never came back, well…that was something that could not even be considered. Should something permanent happen to him, then all of Hyrule-the world, even-was doomed, for with the Phantom of Ganon defeated, all in the land knew that the real thing was bound to show up eventually.   
  
Needless to say, the search being performed by the commanding general of the Hylian army was slightly frantic.  
  
King Jiro, Princess Zelda, and General Kiron were in the conference room of the palace listening to another report of a complete lack of progress by the search parties when the other shoe dropped.  
  
There was a horrendous crash from the outer chamber, and it was followed by a loud shout and the horrific sound of something striking solid bone. There was another yell as a soldier came flying through the door of the council chamber to hit the opposite wall with a sickening crunch. The poor man slid limply to the floor, dead with a broken neck. Kiron shot to his feet, immediately moving forward to block anything from hurting Zelda, and also to see what dared attack one of his fearless soldiers. Jiro was up in an instant, stepping forward to see what the commotion was.  
  
He needn't have bothered. They already knew.  
  
He swaggered into the room, practically oozing smug, self-satisfied amusement at the scene before him, dressed in all his gaudy black ceremonial armor and finery. His scarlet cape flowed out behind him as he walked.  
  
"You!" Jiro hissed, tone venomous.  
  
Ganondorf Dragmire, self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness and prophecy-foretold King of Evil, smiled calmly at the King of Hyrule. "You were expecting Link?" he asked menacingly.  
  
That was precisely the moment when something snapped deep inside Princess Zelda. With a low growl, she lunged past Kiron, and dove for Ganondorf's throat. Unfortunately, she was too short to make the target. Once she reached him, she began to pound on his shoulders with all her royal fury. "You monster!" she cried. "What did you do to him? Where is he? What did you do with Link?"  
  
And continuing to screech curses at him, she began trying to claw at his face and kept beating on him without mercy.  
  
He watched her with a curious, detached look on his face, and suddenly, his eyes went hard, and he flung out one arm, sending the Crown Princess of Hyrule flying across the room. Zelda hit the wall hard and crumpled, landing on the floor in a dazed heap. Jiro made as if to charge forward at Ganondorf, but Kiron held him back. "No, sire," he said respectfully, stepping in front of the enraged monarch. "No sense in getting yourself killed, Majesty."  
  
"That low…sneaking…" Jiro snarled under his breath.  
  
"Aye, that he is, sire," Kiron agreed, "but we don't need the royal family butchered today, Majesty." He reasoned.  
  
Ganondorf started to laugh; a soulless, low sound full of mocking hatred. "My, such passion…" he whispered venomously, "it's too bad you're my competition for control of this land…we could have a lot of fun controlling it together."  
  
"Rot in hell," Jiro snapped.   
  
"Already did, dear boy," Ganondorf retorted just as sharply. "Don't care to go back anytime soon."  
  
He held out a hand, and suddenly it seemed to shimmer with intense, dark power. There was a blinding flash, and when it faded, Zelda was encased helplessly in a large rose-colored crystal. She turned toward her father. "I'm sorry, Daddy!" she cried. "I couldn't stop him, I'm sorry!"  
  
"It's all right!" Jiro pressed his hand against the side. Zelda stared out at him, tears forming in her deep blue eyes, and she beat her fists harmlessly against the surface of the crystal.  
  
Jiro's face twisted into an expression of inhuman contempt and hatred for the desert man. He lunged at Ganondorf once more, and Kiron grabbed at his arm, but it wasn't Kiron's warning that held him back, this time.   
  
"Ah…I wouldn't do that, if I were you, old boy," Ganondorf said menacingly. He waved his hand toward the crystal, and thin, spider web tracings of black electricity weaved over the surface, crackling viciously.   
  
Zelda screamed.   
  
Jiro stopped in his tracks, going cold at the sight. Ganondorf smiled at the effect his display had on the king, and ceased his attack on the princess. "Are we going to play nice now?" Ganondorf asked smugly.  
  
Jiro stared helplessly at his daughter, and then glared at Ganondorf. "No, Daddy! Don't do it!" Zelda called to him from inside the crystal. "It doesn't matter what happens to me! Don't bargain with him!"  
  
"Quiet, girl!" Ganondorf snapped, and once more, black lightning laced across the surface of the rose-colored prison. Zelda once more began to scream in agony.  
  
Jiro's eyes darted between his daughter and Ganondorf, frantically trying to devise some strategy to help him defeat the evil Gerudo. Finally, he could stand it no longer, and something twisted and snapped inside him. With a snarled curse, he lunged for the throat of the Gerudo king, following the actions of his daughter moments before.  
  
Ganondorf was ready for it, however. With one, swiftly fluid motion, he reached inside his flowing cape to the scabbard at his waist. Drawing his sword, he watched clinically as the King of Hyrule impaled himself on the dark, twisted blade.  
  
Zelda screamed again, but now it was filled with loss. "Daddy, no!" she cried as Jiro slid off the sword. Jiro stared down at the sudden hole in his chest, with glazed, uncomprehending eyes. As Kiron caught him, he fell to the floor. The grizzled general was muttering curses against the entire Gerudo race as he lowered his king gently to the floor.  
  
Jiro turned a pale face toward Zelda, who was again beating her small fists against the crystal, sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, my daughter…" he rasped. "This wasn't supposed to happen…" he coughed hoarsely. "Don't ever surrender to him…I love you…"  
  
With those final words, the king gave a long, fading sigh and was gone.  
  
Kiron lowered his sovereign gently to the ground, and stood up, his eyes blazing. "You murderer," he snarled quietly.   
  
"Oh, come now, he practically killed himself, rushing at me like that," Ganondorf countered. He watched the Hylian calmly. "Now, I can assume that you will be a little more…cooperative than the last?" Ganondorf suggested.  
  
Kiron glared scathingly at Ganondorf, and then, turning to the princess, he laid a hand against the crystal as he saluted her. "Don't worry, my Queen, we will find Link, and we will end this. I'm sorry I can't get you out right now, but we will come for you. Or die trying."   
  
"Go," she said weakly. "Don't you die here today too." And with those words of dismissal, the new monarch of Hyrule, Queen Zelda, retreated into a sad shell, not ready to face the loss of her father and the Kingdom he'd left for her.  
  
"My word of honor on your rescue, Majesty," he said, and turning back to Ganondorf, he muttered a single, sharp curse. "Go back to hell," he snarled, and lunging past a surprised and somewhat confused (though he'd never admit it) Ganondorf, Kiron ran out of the chamber, and started bellowing orders to al the sentries.  
  
Ganondorf roared in rage at the target that had just escaped him, and turned to the Gerudo warriors that served as his honor guard. "Kitara! Nidra!" He snapped. "Go find him and bring him back! I need him. For…bargaining."  
  
The female warriors nodded and turned to leave, but Zelda couldn't help but notice the somewhat…defiantly amused look on the face of the one he called Kitara. She filed it away for future reference.  
  
"Now, Princess," Ganondorf growled, "I seem to be suddenly in charge of your kingdom. You're not going to give me anymore trouble, are you?"  
  
Zelda looked archly at him, and then pointedly turned her back on him.  
  
The King of Evil just stared at her for a moment, then waved his hand, and with the dark, vile powers he possessed, sent her to a prison cell high up in the castle's tower. "Fine, then I'll take care of it myself," he said to no one.  
  
With startling clarity, he realized that he had won. There wasn't anyone who could even hope to oppose him now. The Hero of Time, the only living person able to wield the Master Sword, was gone. Ganondorf had triumphed. He threw back his head and let out a victorious laugh.   
  
Nothing could stop him now.  
  
The world was his. 


	9. Act 1, Chapter 8

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act I-  
  
A Twist of Fate  
  
8  
  
Sirens blared and tires screeched as the ambulance went flying down the street toward the ocean. The streets seemed to blur as the large vehicle careened down the roads.  
  
"What's the call?" Kate Madison asked.  
  
"A lady called in a report on an assault victim down on the pier. Says he just kind of appeared on the docks," her partner, John Callahan replied.  
  
"Appeared? What, like he staggered out from behind a building or something?"  
  
"No. Appeared like out of thin air. Says she had no idea where he came from, but he looked pretty beat up."  
  
"Oh. Weird."  
  
The ambulance roared to a stop in the parking lot by the docks, and the two paramedics rushed out. There was a small crowd of people standing around, and Kate guessed that their victim was probably right in the middle of it. "Excuse us, please," Kate said as she and John leapt from the ambulance with all of their gear. Not bothering to wait until people moved, Kate shoved right through the middle of the large group and stopped cold. Lying unconscious in the center of it all, badly beaten with charred, bloodstained clothing, was a young man whose apparel looked like it had come straight from a fantasy costume shop. Kate shook herself out of her shock, and dashed over to him to check for signs of life.  
  
She felt for a pulse while John broke up the crowd and was dismayed when she found none. "He's flatline, John!" she cried.  
  
"I'm kinda busy," he said as he reached into their medkits for an I.V. "Un-flatline him!"  
  
Kate glared at his entirely non-helpful reply and started to perform CPR on the victim, all the while receiving instructions from the hospital on treatment.  
  
They worked steadily for about ten minutes, and finally Kate, who had been unwilling to give up for pure stubbornness' sake, was rewarded quite suddenly when the victim choked out a hoarse cough and started to breathe, though it was shallow.  
  
Kate grasped for the oxygen mask and placed it over his mouth and nose to help his labored breathing. "Ha! Got him," she said, entirely satisfied with herself.  
  
"You've still got that streak going, Katie?" John asked with a grim smile.  
  
"For the sake of our patients, I hope it never ends…" she grinned back.  
  
After making sure the victim was stable, the two physicians loaded him onto the gurney, and hoisted it into the back of the ambulance. Kate climbed in the back to monitor the patient while John got back in the driver's seat. He started up the van, and was off, tearing down the street again, though in a somewhat more relaxed pace than they'd arrived. Kate sighed and leaned back against the side of the ambulance, relieved that the patient hadn't died.  
  
That was when he woke up.  
  
The patient's eyes snapped open, and he went into a sheer panic when he didn't recognize his surroundings. The panic was compounded when he realized he was strapped to the gurney. With more strength than someone in his condition should have had, the young man started to strain against the nylon straps that bound him to the gurney. "Whoa, take it easy," Kate hissed, and not surprisingly, her voice had the opposite effect that it was supposed to. He looked at her for a split second, and then returned to pulling against the bindings. The terrified assault victim pulled free and rolled, tumbling off of the stretcher. He backed fearfully into the far corner away from Kate, and pulled a large broadsword from a scabbard at his back. Kate hadn't seen it there before.  
  
He held the sword with the deadly sharp tip aimed directly at Kate's heart. Even as she realized he could probably kill her with it before she could blink, she could have sworn she could see a subtle glow about the sword, as if it was alive or had a power of its own.  
  
Shaking that thought aside, Kate instead decided to focus on keeping her patient from killing her. "Take it easy," she said calmly, even though her heart was racing. "I'm not gonna hurt you."  
  
"Everything okay back there?" John called from the front.  
  
To avoid a nasty (and most likely fatal for the paramedics) confrontation, Kate responded. "Yeah," she said calmly, no outward sign of fear given. "Everything's fine," she lied, ignoring the disconcerted look in the eyes of her patient.   
  
His eyes narrowed, but the tip of his sword never dropped. Kate noticed that he was quite competent with his weapon. It seemed less of a sword and more like an extension of his arm. She took a soft, small step toward him. "I mean you no harm," she repeated.  
  
The point of the sword flashed toward her. "Stay back," he snapped. "Don't come any closer."  
  
He took a deep breath, still struggling with his wounds. "Where am I?" he asked next, and Kate's eyes widened.  
  
She didn't say anything for a moment.  
  
"Where am I?" he repeated sternly.  
  
"San Francisco, California." 


	10. Act 2, Chapter 1

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend. And also, this act is where things kind of get silly. Just keep in mind that most o the time while I was writing this I was in high school and that I've improved dramatically since almost four years ago, AND I had no idea what I was doing when I did start it. So if it seems a little far-fetched...deal with it. xp  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
1  
  
The young man's knees almost buckled when Kate told him where he was. The tip of the sword dropped a little. He swallowed. Hard. "Where?" he asked blankly.  
  
"San Francisco, California," Kate repeated.  
  
He blinked, his eyes becoming a little clouded. His knees wobbled, and Kate knew she had to talk fast before he passed out again. If he woke up around the hospital staff, as freaked as he was, he could hurt somebody. "Look," she said quietly, "I know you're scared right now, and you have no idea where you are. But if you let me, I can help you. I'm no here to hurt you. Nobody's gonna hurt you, now. Will you let me help you? You can trust me. I promise. Will you trust me?"  
  
His suddenly hard blue eyes spoke of years of broken promises and betrayal, and Kate knew that it was by a slim margin that she'd gained his trust. Slowly, he nodded. He swallowed again, and his knees started to tremble. He put away his sword, and leaned heavily on the stretcher. "I don't feel so good," he murmured weakly.  
  
Kate gave him a reassuring smile and helped him get back on the gurney. "We're almost there," she said. "The doctors can help you," she offered, but he'd already slipped away again. 


	11. Act 2, Chapter 2

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
2  
  
The ambulance roared to a stop I front of the emergency room at Mercy Medical Center, The nameless victim was taken directly inside by the trauma team, and that was the last Kate saw of him for a time.  
  
The young John Doe had been treated for his wounds and taken to a room in the Intensive Care Unit. There he stayed for about two weeks until his condition stabilized some, and was moved to a regular room. The victim was completely silent, ignoring the pleas and requests of any information about himself or his homeland. He seemed either unwilling or unable to say anything. Days passed and still nothing. He sat, unmoving, every day spent staring out the window from the hospital bed, his right arm in a sling from where it had been broken. The hospital staff at Mercy quickly noticed that the silent young man rarely ever slept, and when he did, it was restless, and he would often awake screaming from some horrible nightmare.  
  
And so he remained in the hospital, silent, somber, and quite often brooding about some hidden, unknown inner turmoil that he would reveal to none. One staff member, however, could have sworn that late one night as she walked past his room to work her late shift, she could hear muffled sobbing from within. When asked if it could have been the other occupant, she answered plainly that there was no one else in that room.  
  
Finally, about two weeks after that, the hospital's administrative staff put their collective foot down, and decided that if someone could not get any information out of him within the week, he was out of Mercy's hands, and would have to finish his recuperation on his own, ready or not.  
  
Mike Williams, Kate's supervisor, called her into his office two days later and gave her the long and short of it. Well, mostly the short. "If somebody doesn't talk to him fast, and get something out of him, then in five days, he's toast."  
  
Kate blinked, startled by her boss' blunt speech.   
  
"The hospital administration is at their wit's end. They can't get anything out of him, and quite frankly, he's taking up space."  
  
"What am I supposed to do about it?" Kate asked plainly, not quite sure where she fit in. Then, even as he started to explain, she understood.  
  
"I read your report, Ms. Madison, and I know you got his guard down before," Williams explained.  
  
For some inexplicable reason, Kate bristled. "With all due respect, sir," she grated, I did not 'get his guard down.' I calmed a frightened patient so he could receive treatment. If you and the administration have a problem with that, then I won't have anything to do with it."  
  
She turned her back on him, and he stood in an attempt to get her to reconsider. "Look, Kathryn, I know you don't think much of my solution. But I'm not trying to get you to take advantage of him or anything. I do want to help this guy as much as we can. If he's discharged now, there's no telling what could happen to him out there. I don't want that. You're the only one who has any chance of getting that through to him. Please try. If it doesn't work, then…" he shrugged.  
  
Kate's face softened and she turned around. "All right, sir. I'll give it a try," she relented. She knew he didn't mean for her to take advantage of anyone. Long day, she supposed, had put her nerves on edge. "If I don't have any success, what is he gonna do?"  
  
"I don't know, Ms. Madison. I really don't." 


	12. Act 2, Chapter 3

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend. And also, this act is where things kind of get silly. Just keep in mind that most o the time while I was writing this I was in high school and that I've improved dramatically since almost four years ago, AND I had no idea what I was doing when I did start it. So if it seems a little far-fetched...deal with it. xp  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
3  
  
Kate wandered into the young John Doe's room and stopped short. He hadn't noticed her come in and was still staring blankly out the window. That wasn't what stopped Kate. She gaped openly at his face…or, more accurately, the side of his head. For poking out from under his long, sandy-blonde hair, were long, gracefully tapered ears that reminded Kate briefly of either Vulcans, or elves from some fantasy novel, or some otherworldly…being.  
  
She shook it off and cleared her throat unobtrusively.  
  
Blinking, a bit startled, the nameless patient jerked himself from his thoughts and turned to look at her. Kate smiled, and was immediately rewarded when his face softened as he recognized her. "Hello," he murmured, turning back to his silent vigil over the outdoors.  
  
She frowned. This was not going to be easy. "Hi," she replied.  
  
Determined not to leave without hearing his entire life's story, Kate planted herself firmly in a chair beside the bed. He turned back, surprised. Then, his face became thoughtful. "I, uhm, never really got to thank you," he said quietly, "for saving my life, I mean."  
  
She waved him off, a pleasant grin on her face. Her green eyes sparkled with warmth. "Forget about it," she said casually. "It's what I do."  
  
He smiled, and it seemed to light up his whole face. "Well," he said, "thank you anyway. Were it not for your intervention, I would have been a dead man."  
  
The matter-of-fact way he said it made Kate shudder inwardly. "Was it that bad?"  
  
He gave her a grave, unblinking stare that she couldn't seem to hold for long. "Worse," he corrected.  
  
There was just something so brutally honest, so tragic, about his whole demeanor that sent Kate's maternal instincts racing to the surface. She saw before her a youth whose bearing indicated a life full of trial, fury, a passion for justice, and overwhelming sorrow. She also sensed great rage and hate that were pent up just below the surface, and suddenly she knew, with great clarity, that she would have to step very careful to keep him from exploding. She took a deep breath. "What's your name, son?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Link," he replied, just as quiet.   
  
There was a lot going on inside him, Kate realized, and he was not entirely sure how to deal with it. Even years later, she would not know why she didn't ask him for a last name. Something just…told her it wouldn't do any good; that he didn't have one. So she let it be. Retrieving his medical charts from the hook at end of the bed, she prepared to write down his information as she got it. Contrary to what she'd assumed, he was responding quite well to her. "Where are you from?"  
  
"Kokiri Forest," he said plainly.  
  
There was a loud, echoing thud as the other shoe dropped somewhere in Kate's mind.  
  
"Say again?" she blurted.  
  
Link's face began to change into an expression of fear as he repeated himself. "Kokiri Forest, in Hyrule." His eyes widened as Kate stared at him blankly. "And you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"  
  
Kate could do naught but shake her head, a helpless smile on her face.  
  
His eyes hardened suddenly. "I know what you're thinking," he said, dreadfully quiet, "but I'm not crazy. I know where I come from, and it most definitely isn't here. I am not crazy."  
  
His tone was so filled with anger and resentment that Kate physically drew back from him, a little frightened by the sudden outpouring of emotion. "Okay," she said, trying to placate him before he did anything she'd regret, "all right. I'm sorry," she added, not really sure what she was apologizing for, but saying it anyway. She grinned at him. "Look, I don't know where either of those places are that you're talking about, so why don't you tell me about yourself so I can get some idea of what happened to you?"  
  
He searched her face carefully for a moment, as if he were trying to ascertain her motives. Finally, he sighed. "I can't."  
  
"You afraid I'm not gonna believe you?" Kate laughed.   
  
"No," he said. "It's just…I…I can't."  
  
"Look, you can tell me."  
  
"I-" he started, then shook his head. "I come from a place where a man fights his own battles. My honor prevents me from involving an innocent in my problems. I…it wouldn't be right."  
  
"Just tell me," Kate insisted.  
  
Link shook his head obstinately.   
  
"My, my," she said, "we're sure stubborn today, aren't we?" she said it with the same amount of emotion she'd use to notice a stain on a shirt.  
  
He stared at her.  
  
"The way I see it, is you can tell me now, or we can sit here and stare at each other for a few hours, and then you can tell me, because, either way, I'm not leaving until I hear your full story. What you are referring to as honor, I call stubborn male pride."  
  
He glared at her, then turned away, his brow furrowed in an angry frown.  
  
She decided then to turn to a different question in the hopes of easing his mind. "How old are you?" she asked conversationally. "Eighteen?"  
  
He laughed shortly. "Hardly. I'm twenty-four as of two weeks ago," he informed her with a bitter, ironic note in his voice.  
  
Kate felt a new surge of sympathy for the quiet young man. To be separated from one's home in the first place was one thing, but spending one's birthday while healing from an assault in a hospital in a strange place…with no one around one knew…Kate frowned. She thought she began to understand a little of the emotional storms within him.  
  
"I…" he stared, then smiled. "I never got to hear…your name," he mumbled.  
  
"Kate Madison," she smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you."  
  
He smiled. "Kate?" he said quietly after a few moments of silence.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I think…I can tell you my story now."  
  
"Good," she said encouragingly.  
  
"But you have to promise," he added, "not to say anything until I'm done."  
  
She pursed her lips suspiciously.  
  
"Please," he begged.  
  
She nodded after a minute's thought. "All right." 


	13. Act 2, Chapter 4

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend. And also, this act is where things kind of get silly. Just keep in mind that most o the time while I was writing this I was in high school and that I've improved dramatically since almost four years ago, AND I had no idea what I was doing when I did start it. So if it seems a little far-fetched...deal with it. xp  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
4  
  
"And that was when I woke up in the back of your…thing," he finished. He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry I threatened you like that," he apologized. "I was…"  
  
"Terrified, from the look on your face," Kate added helpfully.  
  
He smiled, with a trace of chagrin flashing quickly across his face. "Yeah," he admitted. "I guess I was." He looked her straight in the eyes. "Do you believe me?"  
  
It was a hard question. Kate didn't answer, but as she looked into his earnest face, she knew beyond a doubt that what he told her was the truth. There wasn't anything on Earth that could have convinced her otherwise at that moment. As he waited, she nodded. "Yeah," she said finally, "I think I do." She shook her head, laughing to herself. "I must be crazy, but…I do."  
  
He grinned suddenly. "Then you'll help me get out of here?"  
  
"Whoa, slow down, Link," she said quickly. "You haven't yet healed all the way. You're still recuperating."  
  
"But-" he started, "I have to get back there. Who knows what's happened?"  
  
"You've already been here a month. What possible difference could a few more days make?"  
  
"My timing could make all the difference in the world," he said gravely.  
  
"What, life and death?" Kate retorted.  
  
He didn't reply.  
  
For some reason, his silence made Kate nervous. "I'll go talk to my supervisor and see what I can do," she said, and, standing up, she turned and walked out the door. 


	14. Act 2, Chapter 5

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend. And also, this act is where things kind of get silly. Just keep in mind that most o the time while I was writing this I was in high school and that I've improved dramatically since almost four years ago, AND I had no idea what I was doing when I did start it. So if it seems a little far-fetched...deal with it. xp  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
5  
  
Three mornings later, Kate burst back into Link's hospital room with a black backpack slung over one shoulder and a duffle bag in her other hand. She threw it at him and smiled, a harried look in her eyes. "Get dressed," she said shortly. "They're coming." And then, as much like a whirlwind as she was when she'd entered, she was gone.  
  
Link stepped out of his hospital room, still limping slightly from his not-quite-healed wounds, his arm still in the sling it would have been in for another two weeks, dressed in a grey t-shirt, black jeans, and black boots. Kate handed him the backpack, took the duffle from him, and handed him two boxes: one long and thin, the other large and flat. He opened the thin one and grinned. "I can assume the wide one has my shield?" he said.  
  
"Yeah. I wanted to get your things back, but I didn't want to make a complete ass of myself in the process, so I found some boxes in storage that were just lying around. Lucky for me I found a couple that were the right sizes."  
  
He grinned again and closed the long box. He scratched absently at his arm as Kate led him stealthily down the hallway. "Who's coming?" he asked.  
  
Seeming to miss his question entirely, she glanced at the sling. "Can you move that without hurting yourself?" she pointed at his arm.  
  
He tested it, ignoring the slight twinge as he rotated his arm, testing the newly-healed bone. "Yeah."   
  
"great," she replied. "Then lose the sling."  
  
He shrugged, but did as she said, loosing it from around his neck as she undid the clasps on the wrist-brace. She stuffed both in the duffle. "In case you need it later. If that starts to bother you, tell me, okay?"   
  
"Fine. I'm glad to be rid of it, though."  
  
"The rest of your stuff is in the backpack and the duffle. I put your longbow inside the box with your shield. That was the only other place it fit. I made sure I had everything they took off you when we brought you in. I didn't miss anything, did I?"  
  
"No," he assured her. "And thank you." Link had been quite surprised to find all of his things in the bags, having gone through them while he was inside the hospital room. Trying to drag her thoughts back to the present, he repeated his earlier statement. "Who's coming?" he asked again.  
  
"The hospital administrative staff. They decided, after I told them your story, that you were crazy, and that I was crazy to believe you. If they find us, they'll probably lock us in a room and throw away the room. So they're headed for your room to haul you to the nuthouse, and then they're probably gonna go looking for me when they realize you're nowhere to be found." She grinned. "Hope you'll enjoy being an outlaw, because as soon as we start running away, they'll bring out the local PD, and then we'll really be in for it when we get caught."  
  
He smiled. When Ganondorf was in charge, he was usually an outlaw. Having a price on his head was nothing new. "Then let's not get caught." 


	15. Act 2, Chapter 6

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend. And also, this act is where things kind of get silly. Just keep in mind that most o the time while I was writing this I was in high school and that I've improved dramatically since almost four years ago, AND I had no idea what I was doing when I did start it. So if it seems a little far-fetched...deal with it. xp  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
6  
  
There was a bit of trouble when the two hospital escapees got to the parking garage at the foot of the hospital, but not from police or anyone else.   
  
Link stopped cold in his tracks when he got his first look at cars. He simply stopped and stared. "What are those?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Cars." She frowned. Oh, how to explain that…? She thought quickly. "It's…they're kind of like a carriage," she said as the idea popped into her head by way of gracious inspiration, "only there's no horses to pull it. It runs by itself."  
  
"Fine. I'm sure the details would probably just confuse me, so let's just go. Where's yours?"  
  
That seemed too easy. Kate grinned and led him to a baby blue Hyundai Sonata. Quickly deciphering the door handle, Link got in the car and sat down in the passenger seat. Kat threw his bags into the trunk, and scrambled around to the drivers' side, where she dove into the car. Fumbling briefly with her keys, she located the correct one and jammed it frantically into the ignition. The engine roared to life as she cranked the key. Startled, Link jumped backwards in the seat, his arm pressed against the dashboard as he held himself as far away from the bellowing engine as he could. His face had a horribly terrified expression, and, Kate noticed, he looked a little wild around the eyes. She grinned in an effort to calm him down. "No," she said quickly. "It's supposed to do that. That noise is very normal. Don't worry so much."  
  
Slowly, still a little wary, Link eased himself back down into the seat, staring suspiciously at the dashboard. Kate laughed. Looking in the rear view mirror, she cursed, the smile fading quickly. Several people were standing in the doorway to the garage, pointing and waving wildly at the Sonata. Kate muttered several swearwords under her breath as she threw the gearshift into the reverse position. As she backed carefully out of the parking spot, she smiled. "Please make sure your tray tables and seatbacks are in the upright and locked position," she muttered. "I've always wanted to say that," she added with a smile.  
  
Link, pulled his eyes away from the dash and stared at her in confusion. "What?" he asked blankly.  
  
She smiled and pointed at the shoulder harness. "Seat belts," she clarified.   
  
Quickly figuring out how to fit the buckle into the snap, Link barely heard it click before Kate shoved the gearshift into drive. She slammed her foot down on the gas pedal, and Link was thrown backwards in his chair. He winced at the twinge of pain in his not-quite-healed right arm, and Kate grimaced. "Sorry," she mumbled, preoccupied with leaving before anyone else could follow. "If you don't mind, I'd like to put a little distance between them," she pointed over her shoulder, "and us."  
  
The Sonata raced out the exit, tires squealing in rubber anguish as they burned themselves into the concrete from Kate's hasty retreat. They roared hell-bent down the streets of San Francisco; caution thrown to the wind. Link just shut his eyes and prayed to all three Goddesses that Kate wouldn't get them killed as the Hyundai swerved in and out of traffic, careening between cars with understandably upset drivers. She shouted the word "sorry" out the window several times, and drove on, constantly chewing her lip. Link suddenly had a sneaking suspicion that she wished she could close her eyes as they flew down Cannery Row.   
  
"Are you trying to kill us both?" he asked as she slammed on the brakes, throwing him forward and narrowly missing what could have been a ten car pile-up if she'd continued.   
  
"You never know." Kate grinned.   
  
"No worries, but…er…what are those flashing lights behind us?" Link asked nervously, at one point when his eyes hesitantly opened. He'd seen them out of the corner of his eye.  
  
"Aw, hell," she muttered, and, glancing in the rearview, she saw what he meant. There were three San Francisco PD cars in hot pursuit, closely followed by two California Highway Patrol cars, dead-set on bringing them back for a severe reprimand…or worse…Kate thought grimly. "Hang on!" she cried, and, spying a fast-approaching side-street, Kate cranked the wheel hard to the left, apologizing as Link was thrown into the passenger side door. The Sonata screeched around the corner, narrowly avoiding a street lamp post, and bits of gravel flew everywhere as they sped over the ground in the narrow alley. Two of the SFPD cars managed to make the sudden corner, but the third slammed sideways into the light pole, coming to a sudden halt as Kate watched in the mirror. "Ooo, hope they're all right…"  
  
The two remaining SFPD cars continued the pursuit along with the CHP units, still dogging their trail. Kate scowled. "Oh, so you wanna play, huh?" she asked, and, turning sharply to the right, she pulled the Sonata into a second side alley, and floored the gas pedal. They flew at breakneck speeds down the thin side street. Another SFPD car ended its chase rather abruptly when it crashed fender-first into a large, green dumpster, spewing refuse into the path of the CHP cars. One of the unfortunate CHP cars had its windshield covered by the floating rubbish, and someone panicked inside, and the vehicle spun out, flipping twice before coming to rest right-side-up lengthwise in the narrow alley, spraying broken glass and twisted metal everywhere. Kate grinned wickedly. "Three down, two to go…" she muttered viciously.   
  
The powder-blue Sonata sped back onto the main thoroughfare, dodging in and out of traffic in a desperate attempt to shake its last two bitterly determined pursuers. Kate cursed inwardly at the red signal light at an upcoming intersection, and pressed the gas pedal into the floor. "Uh…" Link said, "doesn't the red one mean 'stop'?" he asked, his voice rising in alarm.  
  
"Not today," Kate retorted sharply as the Sonata passed between two other cars, narrowly avoiding broad siding a large, two-trailer semi.  
  
The last SFPD unit was not so fortunate, the left corner of its front fender colliding firmly with the side of the semi. The car jerked violently to the side, and bits of metal and broken glass flew everywhere as the windshield shattered and the front of the car collapsed in upon itself. At Kate's disconcerted expression, Link grinned reassuringly. "I'm sure they're all fine," he said confidently. "You Californians seem to have a strong instinct for survival."  
  
Kate laughed. "Just look at me," she said, and glanced in the rearview to check the condition of the pursuit. She was crestfallen when she realized that the last CHP vehicle had somehow avoided colliding with the semi and was still chasing them down the street. Kate grinned suddenly, and told Link, "Hold on and watch this."  
  
Cranking the steering wheel sharply to the left, Kate flipped the car around 180 degrees so she was facing the CHP. "Uhm, Kate, don't we wanna go the other way?" Link asked nervously.  
  
She shook her head. "Not this time." Punching the gas, the car leapt into motion, roaring suddenly toward the CHP, but on the opposite side of the road. The Hyundai flew past the startled California Highway Patrol officers before they even knew what happened. Turning before they looked, the poor CHP car was t-boned by a nondescript green Dodge Intrepid, and the driver thereof was distinctly unhappy.  
  
Kate chortled with unsuppressed glee as they fled. "Oh, that was priceless," she cried. "I can't believe I just pulled that off."  
  
Link, who was slightly pale from the panic attack he'd just suffered thanks to Kate's erratic driving, breathed a sigh of relief. "Nice timing," he muttered, looking a bit sick.  
  
Kate drove warily but calmly to an apartment complex not far from where they'd lost the last car, and pulled to a stop in front of it. "I'm going to call my partner and see if he can hole us up while we figure out what to do with you. And besides, I need a few things."  
  
Kate disappeared inside the building, and the Hero of Time was left alone. 


	16. Act 2, Chapter 7

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend. And also, this act is where things kind of get silly. Just keep in mind that most o the time while I was writing this I was in high school and that I've improved dramatically since almost four years ago, AND I had no idea what I was doing when I did start it. So if it seems a little far-fetched...deal with it. xp  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
7  
  
Kate dashed into her apartment, grabbed some spare clothing and a hairbrush, and stuffed them into a small suitcase. She then went quickly to the phone, picked it up, and dialed John Callahan's phone number. Her relief was compounded when he picked up halfway through the second ring. "Hello?"  
  
"John, it's me, Kate."  
  
"Oh, hi, Kate. What's up?"  
  
"Can you let me crash at your place for a couple days?" she asked, avoiding the reason.  
  
"You're in trouble?" he asked quickly, concerned.  
  
"There's something…happening that I could really use your help with," she hedged.  
  
"You're in trouble. What's the problem?"  
  
"It's a little long to tell you on the phone," she said, deftly sidestepping the question. "Can I tell you when I get there?"  
  
"I guess. But Katie, this had better be one good story," he threatened comically. Kate smiled.  
  
"It will be, I promise."  
  
Kate flew back out to her car to find Link anxiously awaiting her return. "Sorry. We can go now," she said, and turning on the ignition, the car pulled slowly away from the curb and headed toward the ocean.  
  
"So, does he know that we're coming?" Link asked curiously.  
  
Kate didn't answer right away.   
  
Link waited.  
  
"Well, he knows I'm coming. I didn't actually get a chance to tell him about you yet."  
  
At her hesitant tone, Link scowled disapprovingly. "You really should've told him," he said.  
  
Kate grinned at his reproach. "There wasn't exactly time," she replied. "I kind of wanted to get in and out as fast as possible, you know, before the police got to my place?"  
  
He frowned, trying to find some flaw in her logic. "Well, if that's the case, then…" his voice trailed off, and he shrugged.  
  
She laughed. "Oh, Link, you're an absolute treasure," she said between giggles.  
  
Twenty minutes later, the Sonata was moving down the freeway at a leisurely pace when Kate noticed how quiet Link had gotten. For fifteen minutes or so, he'd been asking her all about California, and not all of his questions were easily answered. Without warning, he'd shut off. Kate glanced over at him from the corner of her eye and saw that he was trying very hard not to look at the ocean, and whenever he did, there was a flash of deep, inner pain behind his eyes. He kept his face straight forward, determined not to watch the cresting blue waves as they dashed themselves against the shoreline.  
  
She frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked quietly.  
  
He shook his head. "Nothing," he replied distantly.  
  
She smiled. "Don't give me that," she said lightly. "I saw that look when you caught sight of the water. What's the problem?"  
  
"You're imagining things," he stated rather bluntly. It was as if a window had closed behind his eyes, and nothing she could do would change the fact that he was shutting her out of something very painful.  
  
She let it go, and was further confused a few moments later when a single sea gull flew past the front of the car and Link averted his eyes. She raised an eyebrow curiously. "Now, I know I wasn't imagining that," she told him directly. "What's wrong?" she asked in real concern when his eyes filled with a hurt, distant cast that made her stomach drop.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled softly. "Let's just say that…something happened in my past that I'd rather not discuss and let it go at that, all right?" His tone was very determined, as if he was going to go to his grave with this pain.  
  
She nodded, acquiescing finally to what she figured was typical Hylian stubbornness.  
  
During the rest of the drive, neither of them spoke. Link still was not looking at the ocean, and now it seemed as if he was unable to look at Kate, either. She thought about it, but let it pass, figuring he'd either tell her or not, but it was not an earthshakingly important thing. They pulled into a house facing the ocean and Kate turned the ignition to the off position. She honked the horn once, and a man with long, dark hair opened the front door with a curious expression on his face. Kate smiled. "I'm gonna go explain, now. Cross your fingers."  
  
She stepped from the car, and grinned a hello to her friend. She started speaking, and Link could see the expression on the man's face change from expectancy, to dubiousness, and then to straight out disbelief. Link felt his heart drop into his shoes. There were a few more words spoken, and then the man reluctantly nodded. Kate grinned widely, threw her arms around his neck, and gave him a large hug. The man smiled. Who could resist that kind of impulsive charm, after all?  
  
She came back to the car, a somewhat pensive grin on her face.  
  
It wasn't reassuring.  
  
"Well?" Link asked when she came back.  
  
"I told him it was an emergency," she said. "He took one look at you, and almost called the police himself. But with a little fast talking, I think I managed to convince him that this really is an emergency. Come on, get out. I'll grab your things."  
  
He hauled himself out of the Sonata and walked up the drive toward the dark-haired man. They just looked at each other for a moment, and then Link spoke. Sticking out a hand, he said, "Thank you."   
  
Kate's partner just blinked. Then, he looked down at the proffered hand, took it, and grinned. "No problem."  
  
"Oh, good, you boys are getting along," Kate grinned as she came up the walk with the two bags that held Link's things, and she fumbled with the boxes, dropping one on the ground.  
  
Link grinned and raced over to retrieve it, and he took both boxes from her as he slung the backpack over his good shoulder. He shrugged and he carried his things, and smiled at Kate, missing completely the icy glare sent in his direction by Kate's partner. Kate, however, wasn't so unaware as to the situation. As she walked past him, she scowled and hit him in the stomach. "Be good," she hissed under her breath.  
  
He blinked, and his scowl darkened.  
  
She smiled placatingly. "At the most, he'll be here for a few days. Then he'll be going home. I don't know how yet, but he'll be gone. What could it hurt?"   
  
His face softened considerably, and he shot forward, grabbing one of the boxes from Link. "Can I give you a hand with that?" he asked pleasantly, and Kate let out the breath she didn't even know she'd been holding. 


	17. Act 2, Chapter 8

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend. And also, this act is where things kind of get silly. Just keep in mind that most o the time while I was writing this I was in high school and that I've improved dramatically since almost four years ago, AND I had no idea what I was doing when I did start it. So if it seems a little far-fetched...deal with it. xp  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
8  
  
Later, they all sat in the living room, and Kate was earnestly trying to convince John Callahan of the truthfulness of Link's story. "Just look at all this!" she cried, gesturing wildly at all of Link's weaponry and assorted valuables.  
  
John shook his head stubbornly. "He's got a real good costume shop someplace," he said adamantly.  
  
Kate sighed and her head dropped into her hands. She rubbed the bridge of her nose wearily, as if fighting off a headache. Then, she thought of something. She stomped over to Link, and pulled his long hair away from the side of his head, revealing one of his long, pointed ears. A flash of sunlight caught the simple silver hoop in his earlobe, and glinted, catching John's focus. His eyes widened, then narrowed, and flickered between Kate and Link, who was a bit surprised by Kate's new course of action. "What are you doing?" Link asked Kate curiously as she pointed at his ear and glared at John.  
  
She didn't answer. "Still think he's got a costume guy?" she asked coldly. "John, this is too crazy not to be true? What kinda nut would make up a story like this? No offense," she added quickly.  
  
"None taken," the Hylian replied. "I understand what you're saying."  
  
John, however, wasn't speaking. He stood up, walked over to Link, who was watching the Californian warily, and pulled on the tip of his ear.  
  
Link's head came up with it, and he winced. "Yes, those are attached," Link told him quickly.  
  
"Sorry," John mumbled, sitting back down. "Plastic surgery?" he asked. Link just stared blankly at him.  
  
"What what?" he asked in confusion.  
  
John shook his head, suddenly tired. "Nevermind. All right, you win," he said finally. "I give up. I don't see how, but you must be telling the truth."  
  
Kate grinned at him. "Thank you, Jonathan," she said. "I mean it."  
  
"No problem," he replied, "but how do we get you home?"  
  
Link scowled thoughtfully. "I've got a book in one of those bags that might give me a few ideas. Let me read through that and see if I can get anything out of it."  
  
"Okay. But we're going to need to move as soon as possible. We don't know if the authorities are still chasing you or not," John advised.  
  
Kate made a face. "The way I outran 'em, they'll probably hunt us from here to the other side of the Pacific," she said ruefully.   
  
John's eyes widened. "That bad?" he asked in shock.  
  
Kate sighed. "Probably worse."  
  
"Oh, goody." 


	18. Act 2, Chapter 9

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend. And also, this act is where things kind of get silly. Just keep in mind that most o the time while I was writing this I was in high school and that I've improved dramatically since almost four years ago, AND I had no idea what I was doing when I did start it. So if it seems a little far-fetched...deal with it. xp  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
9  
  
That afternoon, Link was poring over a large, ancient-looking leather-bound book with strange writing inscribed on the faded, yellowing pages when Kate came up behind him and peered over his shoulder. "Any ideas yet?" she asked.   
  
He looked up. "Maybe. I think there's a way to do it, but to open up whatever portal it was that shot me here, I'm going to need to be at the exact point where the portal opened up in the first place. The lines between our two worlds are apparently very thin, and that's-I guess-how the breach got opened in the first place. I think it'll work, but I'm not entirely sure yet."  
  
She smiled. "Here's hoping," she told him. "Uhm, there's something I wanted to ask you-"  
  
"Go ahead."  
  
"Well, I'm not sure exactly how to put this, but-"  
  
"Kate, you and John both have been so much help to me. If I started now, there's no way I could ever repay you for your kindness. So go ahead. Ask me anything."  
  
She bit her lip, then plunged straight in. "Take us with you," she blurted.  
  
He blinked. "Anything else."  
  
"Please," she begged. "I don't want to stay here. I don't even like California. Besides," she grinned. "I'm curious. I want to meet this princess you keep talking about."  
  
He smiled and turned away, to hide his face, but before he did, Kate saw the merest hint of red on his cheeks and stifled a laugh. "Please," she asked once more.  
  
He gave in. "All right," he acquiesced. "But-are you sure John will want to come too?"  
  
"Are you kidding? It was his idea," Kate laughed.  
  
"All right," he said again. "If that's what you want, then who am I to argue? You'd probably follow me through even if I'd said no," he added wryly.  
  
"Boy, have you got me figured out," she grinned.  
  
That night, the demons came. 


	19. Act 2, Chapter 10

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend. And also, this act is where things kind of get silly. Just keep in mind that most o the time while I was writing this I was in high school and that I've improved dramatically since almost four years ago, AND I had no idea what I was doing when I did start it. So if it seems a little far-fetched...deal with it. xp  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
10  
  
Link wandered through a dusty maze, wind whipping sand around that stung his face and arms as he meandered through the halls. He lost his way quite quickly, and cursed himself for not paying attention. "You stupid, directionless jerk," he said acidly, the words carried away on the wind almost as soon as he'd spoken them. Looking up at the unforgiving, bleak grey clouds hanging low overhead, Link squared his shoulders and started forward once more. Coming to a bend in the corridor, he turned right and saw a figure in the distance reaching out imploringly toward him, her golden hair and snow-colored gown snapping and blowing in the fierce wind.   
  
The Princess Zelda.  
  
Link took a step toward her, and was almost knocked off his feet when a huge gust of wind blew into him, almost seeming to try and keep him from his goal. Straining, he struggled into the wind, staggering forward against its towering blows. Strangely, no matter how far he walked, Link never seemed to get any closer to the pleading figure.  
  
Sand stung his face and arms as he pushed forward, determined not to give up. Link continued his futile race against the wind, when, suddenly, an enormous blast, stronger and more solid than the wind had been previous, blew into him, throwing him onto his back. He lay on the ground for a moment, dazed and stunned, the air knocked from his lungs. Link coughed once and pulled himself up.  
  
Upon standing, his eyes widened in surprise.  
  
Zelda was gone.  
  
"No!" he roared, slamming one fist angrily into the wall as he swore savagely.  
  
There was a dry, fiendish cackle that seemed to float down out of the air. "My, such language," the voice said, and Link felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. "Tell me, boy," and there was no mistaking the snide tone of voice, "do you like my prison? I've grown rather fond of it, seen as how I've been here so long, thanks to you."  
  
Link's eyes narrowed suspiciously, as, for the first time, had some inkling to where he was. He decided to drop any pretense. He was a prisoner of the evil sorcerer's whim, and he knew it. Ganondorf knew it, too. There was no need to feign politeness. "I see. And where, exactly, would 'here' be?" he asked bluntly.  
  
"You were never taught proper manners," Ganondorf sulked. Then he told Link the awful truth. "'Here', boy, is the Evil Realm, my prison away from home, and now yours, as well. You're going to be here as long as I want you to be, and there is not a single, solitary thing you can do about it."  
  
"Over my dead body," Link growled savagely.   
  
Ganondorf laughed. "I certainly hope so," he replied pleasantly. "That's kind of the reason you're here. Wouldn't be any fun, otherwise. So start running, Kokiri. You'll need the head start."  
  
Link walked slowly forward, his hands holding tightly to his massive broadsword. The walls around him seemed to melt away, revealing a bland, featureless tan-colored plain that stretched for miles, the sky meeting the ground farther away than seemed possible. Link kept glancing around himself, positive that any second, something rather large and nasty was bound to come shooting out at him from somewhere he couldn't see.  
  
Link was right, of course, though the particularly large and nasty thing that happened was a little bit invisible at the time, and directly behind him.  
  
Something slammed into Link's back, hard. He went sprawling forward onto that ground, and bit back a curse as his teeth ground into his lower lip. Biggoron's Sword went clattering away over the sandy ground.  
  
There was faint laughter coming from somewhere distant; snide, cold cackling that made Link's blood run cold and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He pushed himself slowly to his feet and took a step toward his sword.  
  
A figure materialized in front of him. Tall, dark, and evil, Ganondorf Dragmire Stood over the Hero of Time, smiling a smile that was equal parts smugness and ego. "Not a chance," he said quietly. "You're on my turf, boy. You think I'm just going to let you walk, in here and try to take me down? Think again."  
  
He reached one hand under the swirling crimson cloak that draped about his shoulders, and withdrew a black iron sword that chilled the air around them. Impossibly huge, the dark blade was at least a good six feet long, with an ax-like curve at the tip, made perfect for the horizontal swipe that would either disembowel or behead its opponent.  
  
Either way, Link didn't like his chances.  
  
He stared at Ganondorf's massive sword for a moment, ant then darted out and around, tucking into a swift roll as the King of Evil swung the blade at him. He scrambled forward, and snatched his sword up from the ground, whirling to block his enemy's next swing. He staggered backward from the force of it. Exerting all his strength, Link pushed against Ganondorf, who would not let up. He kept shoving into Link, hoping to push the Hylian to the ground.  
  
Taking an enormous risk, Link lashed out with one foot and booted Ganondorf in the stomach.  
  
The oppressor lurched backward, doubling over as the air was knocked from his lungs. Link took the opportunity to swing downward at Ganondorf's head.  
  
The great black blade came up once more, and sparks flew as the iron collided with the indestructible steel. "You're hopelessly outmatched, boy," Ganondorf said snidely. "Give up while you still can, and I may…spare your princess," he said tauntingly.  
  
"Not a chance," Link snarled, pulling a wide, one-handed arc with the broadsword, the blade whistling through the air.  
  
Ganondorf stood quite still. "Have it your way, then," he said, and as the blade came for him, the sorcerer vanished. "Enjoy the show, boy."  
  
The wind kicked up once more, and Link squinted into the dust flying ferociously across the plain. There was a platform not far away, and it hovered a good twenty feet into the air, the black basalt seeming to shimmer in the heat.  
  
Three figures stood on the platform.  
  
Link started to run.  
  
Ganondorf turned to his soldier, Joreth the deserter, and nodded.   
  
Joreth, smiling wickedly, drew his sword and stepped the two paces across the platform to stand behind Princess Zelda.  
  
He placed the tip of his sword against her back. Link skidded to a stop on the loose sand. Pulling free his bow, he took desperate aim and fired at the platform.  
  
Ganondorf raised a hand and knocked the projectile away with great ease.  
  
And then he returned fire. With the same hand, he threw a ball of pitch black energy straight at the Hero of Time. Link saw it coming and veered wildly around it. He once more started to run, and glanced over his shoulder. To his horror, the black ball was still coming straight at him. It was following him, and gaining fast. Link threw himself to the ground just as the beam caught up with him. Rolling to a stop, he watched as it shot past him and turned around once more.  
  
He raced to his feet and brought his arms up in front of his face.  
  
The beam came straight at him and exploded against his forearms.  
  
Link was thrown backwards to land with a painful jolt on the ground.  
  
He stood up, ignoring the burning pain in his arms, and started to run again.  
  
Ganondorf was not about to be ignored so easily. He threw a second beam of black, about the size of his head at Link.  
  
The Hero of Time ignored it, dodging around to continue his mad dash toward the platform.  
  
The beam, as it had before, swung around and raced after him, picking up speed as it went. Link could sense it gaining on him, and tried to pick up his pace a little, tearing with frantic dread toward his Princess.  
  
The beam smashed into Link's back, throwing him to the ground. As it did, something in his back snapped and his legs went numb. He collapsed onto the ground, scraping his chin and elbows on the rough dirt.  
  
As he watched, Ganondorf nodded to his soldier. "Do it," he said.  
  
"With pleasure," Joreth replied.  
  
With calm, deliberate slowness, Joreth held his sword at Zelda's back and pushed.  
  
"No!" Link roared as her eyes widened for a horribly long moment, and then closed one final time as she slid limply off the traitor's blade.   
  
The last of his strength spent, the Hero of Time collapsed back to the ground with a broken spine and began to weep like a brokenhearted child. 


	20. Act 2, Chapter 11

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend. And also, this act is where things kind of get silly. Just keep in mind that most o the time while I was writing this I was in high school and that I've improved dramatically since almost four years ago, AND I had no idea what I was doing when I did start it. So if it seems a little far-fetched...deal with it. xp  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
11  
  
Link awoke with a scream, sitting bolt upright in the darkness.  
  
The door to John's bedroom was suddenly outlined in light as John flipped the switch and opened the door. Kate was in the hallway moments later. Both were staring at him intently. "What happened?"  
  
Link shrugged, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself. "Nothing," he replied. "Nightmare, that's all."  
  
Kate's expression was dubious at best. "Are you sure? That sounded like a lot more than just a nightmare."  
  
Link laughed bitterly. "With me, there's no such thing as just a nightmare."  
  
She frowned, and turned to John, speaking quietly to him. After a moment's indecision, he nodded reluctantly and turned, going back into his room. The door closed behind him. Seconds later, the light turned off.  
  
Kate wandered out toward him. "Mind if I take a look at that shoulder? I want to make sure it's healing properly without the sling. Never can be too careful, you know."  
  
Staring off into the night, Link shrugged. "Sure," he said tonelessly.  
  
Kate shot a quick look at him, but his expression revealed nothing. If eyes are the windows to the soul, then Link was boarded up from the inside.  
  
No vacancy.  
  
She walked over to him, scrutinizing his shoulder through narrowed eyes.  
  
Kate turned on the table lamp. Link jumped.  
  
Kate grinned. "Little high strung, are we?" she asked lightly.  
  
He shrugged again. "I guess."  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kate asked.  
  
He shook his head. "Not really."  
  
Kate saw something in his eyes that made her shudder. And she didn't believe him. "Are you sure?" she asked.  
  
He searched her face fro a long moment, trying to discern her motives. Finally, he took a deep, shaking breath.  
  
Kate sat down next to him on the sofa. "It's all right," she said. "You're with a friend. Take your time."  
  
He nodded.  
  
Finally, after a long silence, he began to speak. Without looking up, he related the details of his dream in a long, quick rush, afraid if he didn't say it quickly, he'd never get it out. After he finished, both sat in the dark silence for a long time, neither able to speak.  
  
Kate simply didn't know what to say. She saw him shudder a little, and put an arm on his shoulder in a comforting way. He looked at her, searching her face once more. She smiled.  
  
"It's okay. You don't have anything to hide. You're with a friend."  
  
Something broke inside the Hero of Time. A floodgate of emotion split wide open, and a single, choked cry worked its way out of his throat.  
  
Very quietly, he started to sob.  
  
In a motherly gesture, Kate held onto him and let his turmoil work its course.  
  
Somewhere in the middle of it all, John turned on the light and stuck his head out the door. Their eyes met, and in a single glance, all was understood. He nodded once, turned around, and went back inside. 


	21. Act 2, Chapter 12

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend. And also, this act is where things kind of get silly. Just keep in mind that most o the time while I was writing this I was in high school and that I've improved dramatically since almost four years ago, AND I had no idea what I was doing when I did start it. So if it seems a little far-fetched...deal with it. xp  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
12  
  
Link sat once more on the couch with the Book of Mudora open in his lap, poring over its contents with a kind of feverish haste, looking for something, anything, that might hasten his return to Hyrule.  
  
"Find anything?" John asked curiously.  
  
Link nodded. "I think so," he replied. "I just hope I've got enough dust to pull it off."  
  
"Dust?" John echoed.  
  
Link nodded. "I've got this powder from the Great Faeries that live in Hyrule…I see that smile, Kate," he said as she walked past, trying to hide the grin, "and if you so much as giggle I'll do horrible things to your face."  
  
She sighed. "Sorry."  
  
"Right," Link said, flashing a quick grin. "Anyway, if I've got enough of this dust left, I should be able to open a fairly stable short-term portal back to Hyrule-if you two can get me to the docks without interference."  
  
"Wouldn't that be nice," Kate said, her mind flashing back on the previous day's narrow escape.  
  
"Oh, come on, Katie," John said pleasantly. "It might be easy."  
  
"Easy?" she countered. "John, you're sweet, but you've got no idea how stubborn those authority-types can be. I've never actually had to institute 'creative driving' techniques before. I'd rather not do it again, either."  
  
"Okay, I'll drive," John threw in. "I might like 'creative driving.'"  
  
"I'm sure you would," Kate muttered darkly. "Men."  
  
Link watched the interchange without speaking a single word. After they had finished, he went back to what he was saying. "And from there, it's on to find my princess and remove someone's appendages and maybe rearrange certain vital organs," he said with relish.  
  
John winced.   
  
"Ooo," Kate said with a grimace. "I'm definitely glad I'm not that guy," she murmured. "About this Ganondorf fellow," she said, sitting across from John and Link in a chair, "how long have you two…erm…known each other?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Since I was about ten years old," Link replied shortly.  
  
Her eyes widened. "And you lived through him this long? I gather you're not exactly fond of him," she added.  
  
"How'd you guess" was all Link said.  
  
"How did you first meet your archenemy?" John asked, somewhat dramatically.  
  
Link's eyes grew distant as he sat back and thought about it, the book he held momentarily forgotten. "It was particularly dark that night," he began.  
  
"Ooo, one of those beginnings," Kate said eagerly.  
  
Link just stared at her.  
  
"Well, it's kind of a cliché here," John explained. "There are a lot of stories, some good and some not so, that start out 'it was a dark and stormy night'. But I gather yours is good, instead of the not so," he finished.  
  
Link nodded. "It depends on your point of view, I suppose. Anyway, for Kate's sake, I will say that it was indeed a dark and stormy night. I had been making my way across Hyrule Field, a large plain that stretches for miles in the central part of my land. The sun was going down, and I was running as fast as I could. In the distance, I saw that the drawbridge was already up, though the sun had not yet set. I found that odd, since Hyrule Castle Town's main gate is always open, at least, until the sun goes down.   
  
"I had just reached the bridge when there was a loud peal of thunder overhead, and then it started to rain. The overcast sky made the night fall all the faster, and I settled myself in for a long, wet, miserable night in the rain. I was just about ready to sit down by the bridge when there was a shout from inside the castle.  
  
"The chains started to rattle, and the drawbridge suddenly descended, going quite a bit faster than normal. The shouting continued as I stared in through the archway. Surely they couldn't be lowering the bridge just for me?  
  
"I had my answer moments later when I heard the faint but insistent clatter of a horse's hooves. It grew louder, and as I squinted into the darkness, I could see a pale figure coming toward me. The horse was upon me so fast I barely had time to get out of the way," Link continued. "I scrambled out of the way, and whirled to watch the horse fade into the distance. Upon its back sat Princess Zelda, no older than I was. Holding onto the princess was her handmaiden, Impa. I had been too late to make my delivery. I watched the horse as it shrunk in the distance, eventually disappearing entirely into the dark, murky night.  
  
"A sudden sensation made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. There was a snort, and a hoof pawed the earth. I turned around to see the largest horse I'd ever laid eyes on towering over me. It tossed its head about, pawing the turf, as if anxious to run me over. And seated upon its back was Ganondorf Dragmire, Gerudo King. He looked off into the distance and spat out a curse at the fleeing princess. 'Argh! I lost them!' he said angrily.  
  
"I kept praying he'd ride on, that he wouldn't take any notice of me, but such prayers weren't to be heard. His baleful golden gaze turned to me. A frigid wind kicked up, and his red hair blew about like a flame. 'You! Boy! Surely you saw the white horse go past just now. Which way did it go?' he asked. His tone sounded like I was a servant, or some menial person not to be bothered with. 'Answer me!'  
  
I was terrified of him. I couldn't even answer him, nor would I if I could. I took a step backward. One of his eyebrows went up as he stared at me, almost speculatively. 'So,' he said, 'you think you can protect them from me? I like your attitude.'  
  
"Somehow, the condescending tone in his voice made me mad. You'll notice that we hadn't exactly got off to the best start. Without even thinking about it, I pulled my tiny sword and child-sized wooden shield from my back and glared at him as menacingly as I could manage. I'd imagine I looked rather foolish, all soaked with my hair plastered to my face from the rain. To his credit, Ganondorf didn't laugh right away. He just kept looking at me, so hard that I thought I'd melt right there.  
  
"And then, a low rumble started, and he chuckled. 'You've got guts, kid,' he told me, and I definitely didn't like how he said it. Then the twisted smile disappeared, replaced by an expression of hatred. I think, on some subconscious level, he had a fleeting vision of what I would mean against him later. His face hardened, chilling me to the bone, and he sat up straight in his saddle. 'Fool!' he thundered. 'Do you know who I am? I am Ganondorf, and one day, I will rule the world!' He stuck out one hand at me, and a ball of black energy built up in his palm. It coalesced into a beam of light so cold that it would have burned.  
  
"And then he threw it at me. It struck me full in the chest, and I was thrown backward to land on my back on the cold, wet ground. The last thing I heard was his laughter as he rode away, the hooves of his horse sounding louder than was natural as everything dimmed, and went black."  
  
Link looked up. "When I woke up, the sun was out, the rain had stopped, and Ganondorf was long gone."  
  
Kate shuddered. "Sounds like a great guy."  
  
"Can't wait to meet him," John muttered.  
  
"Yes, you can," Link said fervently. "I've never met anyone before or since that has so thoroughly terrified me. Ganondorf is the embodiment of everything I've come to fight against."  
  
"When do we leave?" Kate asked, hoping to break the somber feeling that had dropped over the trio like a blanket.  
  
"Tonight?" Link asked. "It's crucial that I get back as soon as possible. There's no telling what Ganondorf's cronies have done since I've been gone. Just because I got their boss already doesn't mean they're smart enough to lay off."  
  
"I'm beginning to get that picture," Kate said with a grimace. "Tonight sounds good."  
  
"I'll be ready," John agreed.  
  
"Good." Link said, nodding.  
  
"I'll be back in a half an hour or so," Kate said. "I've got a couple things left at my apartment I'd like to grab before we go."  
  
"Be careful," John said as she opened the front door.  
  
Link stood and stopped Kate as she turned to leave. "Uhm," he said. "About last night…well, yeah." He seemed at a loss for words.  
  
"Hey," she replied lightly. Don't worry about it." In a friendly gesture, she reached up on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "That's what friends are for, right?" 


	22. Act 2, Chapter 13

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend. And also, this act is where things kind of get silly. Just keep in mind that most o the time while I was writing this I was in high school and that I've improved dramatically since almost four years ago, AND I had no idea what I was doing when I did start it. So if it seems a little far-fetched...deal with it. xp  
  
-Act II-  
  
-Dimensional Refugees-  
  
13  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Kate burst in the door, her expression harried and anxious. "What's the problem?" Link asked, looking up at her from his position on the couch.  
  
She grimaced. "I have good news and bad news."  
  
"What's the bad news?" John called from down the hallway.  
  
"We're not leaving tonight."  
  
"What?!" Link cried.  
  
John came out of the bedroom to stare at Kate incredulously. "What's the good news?"  
  
"The police aren't here yet," she said blandly. "We're leaving, now. If you value your freedom, we need to go."  
  
"That bad, huh?" he laughed. "All right. Let's go. You got your stuff?" he asked the Hero of Time.  
  
Link merely nodded.   
  
"We'll take my car. With any luck, it'll throw them off long enough for us to get to Pier 39."  
  
"Not for the first time," Kate said, "I'm really, really glad you live right on the shoreline, John."  
  
"Me too."  
  
The classic, 1965 Mustang sped down the highway, the metallic hunter green reflecting in the noonday sun.  
  
John was pushing the envelope of the San Francisco speed limits, weaving in and out of traffic, passing closer than was really safe. More than a few irritable drivers honked, cursed, and gestured as John unfortunately cut them off. Kate spent a large part of the drive with her head in her hands, rubbing the bridge of her nose wearily. "We need a big sign that says 'We're sorry our driving bites, but it's really important for us to be ahead of you,'" she sighed wearily over the rushing wind. The convertible, John's pet, a restorative project that had taken him almost three years, was not the most nondescript car they could have chosen, but with Kate's Sonata having been identified by the authorities, it was imperative that they choose a new transport.  
  
John sighed. "I'm going to miss this car," he said mournfully, thinking about their future journey into a different world.  
  
"John?" Kate said.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Dry up."  
  
"Sorry," he replied.  
  
John put on the brakes, pulling his speed back down to the limit as three San Francisco Police Department units came racing past them-heading the opposite direction. Kate watched them pass in amazement, her mouth hanging open. Her mouth twitched, and she laughed. "Beautiful," she cried between giggles. "Absolutely perfect."  
  
"That gives us a little bit of an advantage," John said. "Let's not waste it," he said, pushing the gas pedal to the floor. Link, knowing he was in for another bout of creative driving, closed his eyes, gripped the door handle, and said a quick prayer to the Goddesses that he'd live through it.  
  
The Mustang screeched to a halt in a small parking lot in front of Pier 39. The police had not yet shown up, but sirens could be heard in the distance. The trio knew there was no time to waste. Link leapt from the car, pulling a green leather pouch and the Book of Mudora from his duffle bag. He opened the book to the right spot and set it down on the dock. Looking closely at one page, he took the pouch, and drew an odd triangular shape on the pier in green powder. Kate watched, fascinated, noticing in the back of her mind that the shape on the ground was the same shape as the mark on the back of his hand. Link reached into the bag once more and pulled out a long, silver rod with a large, smoothly rounded blue stone set in the tip. He settled it across his right arm, closed his eyes, and said three words in a language Kate had never heard before. A blue beam shot from the tip of the rod, and the powder ignited.  
  
Flames of vivid azure flared up around him, creating a flaming chamber all around the Hylian. Gazing through them at the book, he began to speak in the same, strange tongue, occasionally pausing to look down at the book.  
  
Screeching tires in the middle of Link's spell announced the presence of the SFPD. The doors of the vehicles opened, and six officers suddenly all had guns pointed at the trio, who stood there with hands up, trying to prove their current harmless state. "Cease your operations," one female officer cried through a bullhorn at Link, who did not look up.  
  
"I think she means you, kid," John called. "You done yet?"  
  
"Almost," he replied.  
  
"Put your hands in the air and prepare to be apprehended," the officer called.  
  
"They already are," Kate said irritably. "Look, if you'll just be freaking patient, we'll be out of your hair permanently, and you won't have to worry about us anymore."  
  
"I can't do that," the officer said with a quick shake of the head.  
  
"Half a minute," Kate pled.   
  
"I'm sorry," the officer stated firmly.   
  
"Got it! Go, now!" Link barked. The flames, once about six feet tall, were burning down to the ground, wisps of white smoke curling as they died out. Behind Link was a shimmering circle in the air, like the iridescent hue of a bubble, laid out flat, or oil on the surface of the water, a multi-colored sheen that rippled with each gust and breeze. "Kate, go!"  
  
She reached down and picked up the long, narrow box that held Link's broadsword in it and took a step toward the portal.  
  
A shot rang out.  
  
A bullet ricocheted off the dock inches away from her left foot. Her head whipped around and Kate stared in shock at the police. The moment froze.  
  
"Kate, move!" Link roared, and everything unstuck.  
  
More bullets started to fly as gunfire broke out. Kate's eyes widened in horror, and she raced for the portal, not even pausing to grab her bag before she dove headfirst through the shimmering wall.  
  
John was right behind her, dodging bullets and running as fast as he could. He followed Kate through the portal, and it rippled with his passing.  
  
Link watched the gunfire calmly for a moment, all started by one overzealous rookie with an itchy trigger finger and a little too much initiative. He bent down, stowed the Book of Mudora back in the duffle, and stood up again, the backpack and duffle slung over one shoulder and a box under each arm. He turned away from the startled policemen, and without flinching, walked slowly through the portal.  
  
It collapsed behind him. 


	23. Intermission

Okay. I feel the need to clarify things again.  
  
My chapters are going to be a little short sometimes.  
  
Hell, a lot of the time.  
  
And y'all are going to just have to deal with it. I write the chapter until the section is complete. And then I start a new chapter.  
  
It's how we do things around here.  
  
I upload more than one chapter per upload for that very reason.  
  
But I'm not going to make a chapter longer just for the sake of making it longer. That makes no sense whatsoever and, as I have seen repeatedly in the past, has the potential to absolutely ruin a story. I was always taught to say what you have to say and then close up.  
  
That's what I do. The chapter is the length that it needs to be. I never got complaints about it before posting to ff.net, and I seriously doubt I'll get any other complaints on it besides ff.net. And since I'm not looking for an editor, agent, or publisher for my work, it's my story, damn it, and I will write it however the hell I want to.  
  
And if you don't like it, go'way.  
  
So that's just me. Go on. Keep reading. I'm not near done with this story yet. 


	24. Act 3, Chapter 1

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act III-  
  
A Hero's Return  
  
1  
  
Zelda paced the short length of her cell, wringing her hands anxiously. Her face betrayed an inner turmoil that she couldn't quite contain. Ganondorf had murdered her father and was probably only a small ways away from doing the same thing to her.  
  
It was not a pleasant thought.   
  
Zelda stopped pacing the instant she felt the dark presence at the door of her cell. The hair on her neck stood on end, confirming her suspicions. "What do you want now?" she asked rather ungraciously.  
  
"Am I not allowed to pay a visit to Hyrule's most illustrious, gracious monarch?"  
  
Zelda sighed as she listened to him. Link's dark side seemed determined to drive her insane. This was the fourth time he'd come to taunt her within the space of an hour. "Don't you ever go away?" she asked pointedly, sliding down to sit on the small bunk at the far wall.  
  
"Oh, come now, you know you don't actually want me to leave…" he said quietly. "I've never understood why you like him so much better. I'm a lot more fun," he said blandly.  
  
Zelda knew who he was referring to. "You have an odd idea of the word fun," she said, a faint frown creasing her forehead.  
  
"You should get to know me before you make judgments," the shade said, sounding hurt.  
  
"I already know what you are," Zelda said tiredly. "You're the exact opposite of everything Link is."  
  
"Ah. And that's a bad thing?"  
  
"Yes!" Oh, he was so infuriating! He knew what she'd say! He was baiting her on purpose. "It's horrible! Everything that makes him who he is, loyalty, goodness, human decency, respect for life…you have none of it! You're not even worthy to call him a brother!" Zelda had stood up, and was screeching at the door. "You're just a thin, pale shell compared to him! You're nothing!" she cried. Her eyes started to sting.  
  
The shade said nothing for a moment, and Zelda wondered briefly if he had left. Then, a grating, cold laugh floated through to her ears. He was laughing at her. Zelda cursed herself inwardly. Of all the silly people to lose her temper with, it had to be Link's dark side. It figured. Even his evil half still knew just how to infuriate her, to push just the right buttons to make her screaming mad. Except for the fact that the shade used those buttons to hurt Zelda, to make her truly angry. Link would never have done that. His purpose in yanking her chain was merely to tease, or joke.   
  
Zelda couldn't even begin to know how deep her animosity toward his shadow went. "If I am nothing, as you say," he said quietly, "then why do you waste so much energy trying to insult me?"  
  
Zelda didn't rise to the bait. "Just go away," she said tiredly.   
  
"What, and leave you all alone?" he asked mockingly. "How could I ever leave my princess all alone?"  
  
Zelda's blood started to boil. "Don't you ever call me that!" she cried. "I do not belong to you!"  
  
The hollow, mocking laughter faded away, telling Zelda he had finally gone. Nervously, she went back to her pacing, trying to calm herself and relieve the tension that the soulless shadow always seemed to cause. There had to be some way out of that confounded prison! It was going to take time, Zelda realized, but she thought that if she was given enough time, she could possibly find the flaw in the structure or crack in the dungeon that would help her to escape. Time was all she needed.   
  
Just a little time.  
  
How hard could it be? 


	25. Act 3, Chapter 2

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act III-  
  
A Hero's Return  
  
2  
  
There was a clank against the sturdy iron bars of the castle gates. Several angry-faced Hylians stood outside the gates, holding various farming implements and weapons, ranging from crossbows and swords to spears, pitchforks, and garden hoes. There wasn't a smile among them. And standing at the head of the group was none other than General Kiron, commanding officer of the Hylian Armies. He bore a deep scowl on his face.  
  
The two Gerudo warriors standing on the other side of the gates gripped their long glaives firmly and glanced frequently at each other, unsure of what to do.  
  
Kiron swung the spear in his hand at the gate once more, listening impassively as it clashed with the iron bars. "That's good timber, there," he muttered, inspecting the stout wooden spear for signs of damage. A rumble of tense laughter was his only response.  
  
He watched through narrowed eyes as a third Gerudo came a short ways toward the gate, and then turned back around with the slightest change of expression, going back inside the castle.  
  
Kiron betrayed no emotion, simply stood as if he had not seen the lone Gerudo's change of expression. Inwardly, however, he was exulting. It was only a matter of time, now. Soon, all the parts of his intricately wrought plan would fall gently into place. Very soon, everything would unfold.   
  
There was nothing to do now but wait.  
  
Kitara walked with practiced urgency into the throne room, her face taking on the carefully engineered cast of concern and anxiety she'd so painstakingly crafted for just such an occasion. She stopped a determinedly respectful distance away from the dais, and bowed deeply to the brooding King of Evil, who stared impassively down at her from his lofty throne. "What?" he asked bluntly.  
  
"Majesty, pardon my intrusion, Most Esteemed, but-" she hesitated, yet another carefully practiced motion.  
  
"Well?" Ganondorf led, somewhat impatiently. "Out with it, girl," he growled.  
  
She flinched back, as if afraid. "There are some…restless villagers outside the castle gates, sire," she said quietly. "They look rebellious, and I thought that your Majesty might want to deal with them yourself."  
  
"Then you thought wrong," Ganondorf said slowly, as if speaking to a child. "A petty little band of rebels is not worth my time," he explained. "Go," he told her, with a wave of his hand, "take care of the restless townspeople. I do not wish to be disturbed."  
  
"As my Lord wishes," Kitara said, smiling and groveling as she bowed and scraped her way out of the throne room, an obscenely obsequious smile plastered onto her face. She backed out of the throne room, and turned toward the exit.  
  
The smile fell from her face when Kitara saw the group of rebel Hylians outside the gate. She glanced hastily at the guards. "You, and you," she said, gesturing to each, "return to your normal patrols. I'll attend to the situation myself."  
  
"But-" one started, earning her a nasty glare.   
  
"I do not remember asking for opinions or arguments, Watchman," Kitara said coldly, her golden eyes burning. "Return. To. Your. Normal. Patrols."  
  
Each word was snapped off short, leaving no question as to the meaning behind it. The two guards nodded, saluted, and left without saying another word.  
  
Kitara turned back to the group outside the gate. "Now, what am I going to do with all of you?" she asked, as if talking to herself.  
  
Kiron grinned. "Kitara, you're an absolute treasure."  
  
She made a face. "If you say so," she said wryly, glancing nervously about herself. She opened the gate, moving as slowly as possible to avoid any sound. "Now hurry, all of you. I have to get back to the palace. I've been gone far too long as it is."  
  
Kiron hustled his men inside the gates. He turned and grabbed Kitara's arm. "I wish there was some way I could thank you for all you've done," he said quietly.   
  
She grinned. "Just the look on your face when you're about to cause trouble is reward enough for me," she said. "Honestly, though? Just overthrow his Tyrannical Majesty, and I'll be pleased as punch. I've been wanting to see him go down for a long time."  
  
"I promise. Link will come back, I know it. And when he does, I'm going to help him relieve that bastard of his head," Kiron growled darkly.  
  
"Ooo, I wanna see that," Kitara grinned viciously.  
  
Kiron laughed. "I've got to go," he said. His men were waiting anxiously for him a small ways away. "Thanks again for all your help, Kit."  
  
"No problem."  
  
And with that, they went their separate ways; Kiron to some obscure part of the fortress, Kitara back to the castle proper to continue her work as a double agent.  
  
She was feeling rather smug, and so it took her a moment to realize, when she entered the throne room, that fifteen Gerudo warriors were standing in a semi-circle around Ganondorf with their glaives, scimitars, and other assorted pointy objects all aimed with the dangerous ends straight at her heart. Kitara stopped, blinked, and scoured her mind for a good question to ask, all within three seconds. Two seconds later, the thought occurred to Kitara that maybe she should play dumb and see where things went. So that's what she did.  
  
Kitara remained silent.   
  
"Well?" Ganondorf said. "Surely you wonder why in the world I'd have our people holding spears on one of our own," he said quietly.  
  
She shrugged, as if half witted. "You'd have a good explanation, Majesty, or you wouldn't do it, I suppose," she said, speaking slowly as if her mind were having trouble catching up with the idea that she was in very, very deep trouble. "I don't know or understand it myself, sire," she added.  
  
"Oh, come off it, J'Kall," one of the Gerudo said snidely, whom Kitara recognized as one of the very Watchmen she'd sent back to the palace.   
  
She cursed silently. Turning back to Ganondorf, she feigned what she hoped was a blank, confused expression and frowned. "My lord?"  
  
He sighed. "forget the ruses, First Watchman," he said. "Second Watchman Nidra L'Diros saw you giving entrance to the Hylian scum," he grated. "It's an act of highest treason, and you will be punished most severely." He glared at her, but she didn't look away. Kitara would be damned if she was going to back down. He waved in dismissal. "Get her out of my sight," he said tiredly.  
  
Nidra and two other Gerudo came forward and wrested her glaive from her hand and forced her arms roughly behind her back and forced her forward from the throne room. Down the hallway they continued in silence, the only sounds being Kitara's frequent cursing of Ganondorf, her captors, and most of the Gerudo race.  
  
Nidra walked her down the dungeon stair and opened the door to one of the large, dark cells. She shoved Kitara roughly inside, laughing as Kitara stumbled and landed on her knees. "Filthy turncoat," Nidra spat.  
  
"Fawning bootlicker!" Kitara roared as the cell door shut upon her. She ran forward, and, banging on the door, started shouting curses at Nidra and the rest of Ganondorf's…followers. After a few moments, she gave up and turned around, sinking to the floor with her back against the cold iron. A single tear of anger rolled down her face as she realized that Kiron, her best friend in the world, was completely and utterly on his own.  
  
She only hoped he wouldn't end up dead.  
  
"Hello?" a voice said, small and timid in the darkness.  
  
Kitara shot to her feet. "Who's there?"  
  
"Oh, good, there is someone else in here with me…" the voice sounded frightened and unstable. It also sounded chillingly familiar. "I've been alone so long…and the silence is dreadful…"  
  
"You're not alone anymore…" Kitara said carefully. "But who am I speaking to?"  
  
A figure stepped out into the dim light of the cell and Kitara gasped. She dropped immediately to one knee. "Majesty!" she cried, for before her, stood the true monarch of Hyrule, the Princess Zelda.   
  
The Princess ran up to her and pulled her up off of the floor. "Don't do that, not here. Not anywhere." Kitara looked at Zelda, examining her. The princess was hardly a whisper of her former elegance-her gown, formerly a pure, almost glowing white, was torn and wrinkled, showing stains from the ironclad cell's inherent rusting tendencies, and the princess herself looked sad and hopeless. There was none of the light in her eyes that had always so charmed her subjects before. Kitara began to feel the least bit intimidated by the fact that Zelda seemed to have given up.  
  
Kitara smiled, but it felt broken. "Cheer up, Majesty," she said lightly. "We'll be out of here soon. Link will-"  
  
"Link?" Zelda asked bitterly. "He'd dead," she told Kitara shortly. "He can't help us now. Nothing can. Ganondorf's won, and we're all going to suffer for it."  
  
"No," Kitara whispered. "It can't be…"  
  
"It can, and it is," Zelda replied curtly. "I can't sense his presence anymore…" she said faintly, her eyes filling with tears. "He's gone…it's like someone tore a big, gaping hole in my heart. He's dead, Kitara. He's dead because of me, and I never-" Zelda broke down and started to sob.   
  
Kitara held the shaking princess while she wept.   
  
"He's gone, and I never once told him what he meant to Hyrule…what he meant to me…"  
  
For once in her life, Kitara was absolutely speechless. She was shocked enough by Zelda's idea that the Hero of Time was dead, but her further admissions had thrown Kitara even further off. So she just stood there. Suddenly, an idea came to her. "He'll come back, Princess," she said confidently.  
  
"What?" Zelda asked, bringing her tear-streaked face up to gape at Kitara.  
  
"He'll come."  
  
"How do you know?" Zelda asked. "I can't even feel his presence anymore. How do you know he's not dead?"  
  
"Because if he were, that tyrant who thought I worked for him would be a lot more confident, and he would have killed you by now. Why do you think he's keeping you here?"  
  
Zelda's sky-blue eyes widened as she realized where Kitara was going.  
  
"Exactly, Princess. He's keeping you as bait. He knows Link isn't dead, and he knows that the Hero of Time will stop at nothing to get to you. He's keeping you alive to get at Link. He wants Link to come back."  
  
It made sense. Zelda smiled. "I can cling to that, I suppose. I'd be a little more at ease if I knew for myself Link was alive, but I suppose this will do until I have solid evidence." Zelda looked at Kitara, as if seeing her for the first time. "Tell me," she said curiously, "how did one of Ganondorf's own Fortress Watchmen of the First Rank come to be imprisoned in the Hyrule Castle dungeons?"  
  
Kitara made a face. "He caught me sneaking General Kiron and his men inside the gates," she said dolefully.  
  
"What?!" Zelda laughed, surprised and delighted.  
  
"Yup. I've been a double agent for years now. Ever since our people were preparing for the seal to be broken on Ganondorf's prison, I've been spying for Uncle Kiron."  
  
"Uncle?!" Zelda echoed, astonished.  
  
"He's been one of my best friends since I was little. When we were on good terms with your people, he would come to visit me whenever a trade convoy came through. He always brought me presents, too. So in the past month, while the Hero of Time has been missing, I've been sneaking Hylian soldiers inside the castle gates so they can run raids on the palace. I've always considered it an honor to be a part of anything that irritates Ganondorf."  
  
Zelda burst out laughing uncontrollably. "Are you serious?"  
  
"Very," Kitara said with a vicious grin.   
  
"Whose idea was this in the first place?"  
  
"My spying?" Kitara asked. Zelda nodded. "Well, you probably won't believe this, but the whole thing was the scheme of Exalted Nabooru, Holy Sage of Spirit."  
  
I'd believe it," Zelda said dryly. "Let's not take that 'Holy' thing too far, Kitara," she laughed. "Nabooru is corrupt if anyone ever was. I'm quite unsurprised that she dragooned you into doing that."  
  
Kitara couldn't help but laugh. "You speak of her as such a…"  
  
"Schemer? Thief? Sneak?" Zelda finished helpfully. She leaned forward. "Tell me," she said curiously, "just exactly how long have you actually known Nabooru?"  
  
Kitara laughed harder. "Apparently, not long enough." She shook her head. "What Exalted Nabooru told me, though, was that I was to infiltrate Ganondorf's ranks and keep an eye on things, to take whatever opportunities arose. Since the Sages themselves dared not go near him, she wanted to have a pair of eyes and ears for the Sages purpose."  
  
"And have you heard from her?"  
  
"Nothing bad," Kitara said. The look of uncertainty in the princess' eyes made Kitara speak once more. "Highness, if he weren't coming back, don't you think Holy Rauru would know? Or at least have ventured a guess?"  
  
"I suppose," she replied dubiously. "Oh Kitara, I hope you're right."  
  
"He has to be alive. Just keep that with you. The only reason you're still alive is because Ganondorf doesn't know if Link's dead. If he knew for sure, you would be dead as well."  
  
As much as it was a chilling statement, it was something for the heartbroken young princess to cling to - a thought for the future, a reason to believe, to live…  
  
To hope. 


	26. Act 3, Chapter 3

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act III-  
  
A Hero's Return  
  
3  
  
General Kiron peered around the patch of decorative shrubbery his men were occupying, and motioned for them to hurry forward. They darted stealthily around several trees and another patch of shrubs, and quickly moved around to the side of the castle. One of the young soldiers, a lieutenant, frowned. "Why are we going this way, sir?" he asked in a tense whisper.  
  
Kiron grinned wickedly. "Ole' Pigface might be in charge of the place," Kiron said slyly, "but he hasn't been around the castle long enough to learn about all the secret passages this place has. It's loaded with them." He smugly reached toward an unassuming bunch of wild vines and lifted them to reveal a rusted, heavy iron door.   
  
Several of his men whistled or shook their heads in admiration.  
  
"That's how we get in and out, Joreth," he said to the young lieutenant.  
  
"No, sir," the young man corrected, "my name's Akana. Joreth is my twin brother."  
  
Kiron frowned. "Speaking of that, if you're his brother, then where has he been?"  
  
Akana shrugged helplessly. "I wondered if you knew. I've been meaning to talk with you about that, sir, but it never came up. Respectfully state that things have been a little hellish around here, what with the hiding and the raiding, and all."  
  
"Duly noted, Lieutenant," Kiron said. "We'll worry about your brother later." 


	27. Act 3, Chapter 4

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act III-  
  
A Hero's Return  
  
4  
  
"Erm."   
  
"Yeah, that was pretty much my first reaction too, Johnny boy," Kate replied to John's infinitely eloquent statement.   
  
The pitch blackness of…wherever they were…stood out first and foremost in Kate's mind. The second thing on her mind was the fact that the darkness seemed highly oppressive - like it was pushing in on them from all sides.  
  
She didn't like the feeling.  
  
A sudden light flared up, and when Kate could see again, her eyes widened. A small, golden flame was perched mere inches above Link's palm. He held it out, sweeping around the room, as if looking for something. He walked over to a torch in one corner and held the flame out, squinting as it flared up when the fire caught the torch's fuel source and lit. He wandered over to the other three corners of the room, lighting three more torches as he went. "There, is that better?" he asked after the room had been brightened.  
  
Kate nodded, dumbfounded. "Yeah," she said, quietly puzzled, "but…"  
  
Uhm," John said. He seemed to be at a loss for words.  
  
"How did you do that thing with the fire?" Kate translated.  
  
Link laughed. "Oh, that."  
  
"Exactly. That."  
  
"Din's Fire," he explained. "Useful little incantation to have around. Yet another of the many gifts of Hyrule's most elite Great Faeries."  
  
"I like them already," Kate murmured.  
  
"I know where we are now," Link said. "We're in the caverns at Spectacle Rock on Death Mountain," he explained.  
  
"What a cheerful name," John muttered sourly.   
  
Link grinned. "It's not as bad as you'd think. The Gorons who live on the mountain are actually rather friendly."  
  
"I hope somebody is."  
  
"Oh, John, be nice," Kate sighed, lightly slapping his arm.   
  
Link opened a door on the far side of the room and stepped through, lighting the flame in his hand once more as they entered the darkened hallway. A short time later, he hesitated momentarily, stepping over something. Kate frowned curiously. Seconds later, she stopped with a shudder. "Ooo," she said, feeling suddenly queasy.   
  
The corpse of a dead man lay in front of her, sprawled across the hallway in his own blood. John hissed a curse, and Link turned around.  
  
"Oh," he said absently, "mind the body."  
  
And then he turned to continue down the corridor.  
  
Kate just stared after him for a moment. "Link," she asked unsurely, "did you kill him?"  
  
Link turned around, suddenly furious. "He was a traitor. He was probably responsible for at least part of the princess' abduction, and he almost got me killed. I tried to avoid it in every possible way," he grated fiercely. "The damned fool came at me with a sword," he explained, a touch of genuine regret in his voice.  
  
Before Kate could open her mouth to reply, he had turned away and was once more walking quickly down the corridor. Kate turned a fearful glance to John, who only shrugged helplessly.  
  
She turned to follow, and felt John slip his hand around hers. She squeezed his hand, grateful for the offered support. Together, they continued along their dark path, following closely behind the brooding Hero of Time.  
  
Eventually, the trio emerged out into blinding noonday sun onto the summit of Death Mountain. Kate squinted out over the mountainside, a hand over her eyes to shield them from the bright sunlight. "Wow," she said, dazzled by the landscape. Spread below them was the brown mountain chain, with the slightly paler brown of the Death Mountain Trail laid out like a ribbon through the hills. And far below, in miniature scale, spread over the valley in quiet repose lay the peaceful village of Kakariko. "It's beautiful," she said quietly. The atmosphere seemed easily ruined by sound, so quiet was the air around them.  
  
"It is nice, isn't it?" Link replied. "Come on. Let's get down the mountain. I don't think you'd like it if we were to get caught up here at night."  
  
And with that, they began their descent into the vast land of Hyrule. 


	28. Act 3, Chapter 5

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act III-  
  
A Hero's Return  
  
5  
  
Drip. Drip. Drip.   
  
"I wish you had mentioned the fact that this tunnel went right under the moat," an older colonel growled sourly.  
  
"Oh, come on, Taran," Kiron replied pleasantly. "Little water isn't going to hurt you."  
  
"No, but I won't be much use to you if my chain mail rusts and I can't move an inch either, boy," Taran retorted.  
  
Akana chuckled softly.  
  
"Uh, sir?" a voice said near the back. It belonged to a young lieutenant named Valik.  
  
"Yes, soldier, what is it?"  
  
"Respectfully inquire where this tunnel comes out, sir," the young man asked.  
  
Kiron thought for a moment.   
  
And then he remembered.  
  
There was absolute silence for several minutes.  
  
Taran sighed. "It doesn't," he begged.  
  
"Oh, bugger." Kiron nodded glumly. "It does," he confirmed.  
  
"Oh, Farore, boy!" Taran growled. "Right in the throne room?! Have you lost your mind?!"  
  
"I'm beginning to think it was never around in the first place," Kiron replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose like his head hurt. Kiron sighed, looking out at his troops-troops! Kiron thought. That was a laugh. His 'troop' consisted of thirty Hylian soldiers, all that were left of the enormous Hylian army after Ganondorf had gone to town on the country. His edict of "join me or die" had been met with little to no enthusiasm, and so the evil tyrant had begun a mass slaughter, killing any and all of the Hylian soldiers he came across. The only other members of the Hylian military that still lived besides Kiron's small band were those who had caved in under the pressure and gone over to join the ranks of Ganondorf's dark army.   
  
They weren't looked upon very favorably.  
  
"So." Kiron looked out upon the faces of his men, an expressionless mask upon his face. "Now that you know, what are we going to do?"  
  
"Are we still going to carry out the raid, sir?" one soldier asked.  
  
"Knowing where this tunnel goes-" Drip "-if you still choose, we can go wreak havoc on our tyrant," Kiron said quietly. "But, if knowing where this goes causes you some concern, you can leave now and no questions will be asked. What say you? I will not force any of you to come."  
  
There was silence, and Kiron wondered if they were taking him seriously. "I mean it," he restated. "What we're thinking of doing is probably not the smartest thing any of us have ever done. Hell, I know it's probably the stupidest thing I've ever contemplated, but it's something that needs to be done. Causing confusion and chaos now is going to help later. I know it will. I don't know how I know, but something is going to happen in our favor. I can feel it.   
  
"Even so. If any of you have family or friends who might become targets as a result of this, feel free to leave anytime. I repeat, I will not force anyone to stay. It's most likely that some-if not all-of us are not going to live through this, so if any of you are afraid of dying, now's your chance to back out gracefully."  
  
"If you're trying to scare them out of this, It's not working, boy," Taran growled.  
  
Kiron frowned thoughtfully at him, his face slightly puzzled.  
  
Akana put a hand on his shoulder. "Take a look around, sir," he said quietly.   
  
Kiron looked out on the faces of his soldiers.  
  
"You see that on their faces?" Taran asked. "That's loyalty. These boys are still alive because of your leadership. They're not going to give up now. They'd be dead if it wasn't you what hid them."  
  
"My family is staying with my brother at Lake Hylia," one soldier spoke up.  
  
"My cousin and sister are hiding in Goron City," another said quietly.  
  
"I sent my wife and kids out with my parents to the forest south," one offered.  
  
"I don't know about you people," Valik said, giving the crossbow in his right hand a meaningful heft, "but I didn't come all the way here just to leave now."  
  
"So yes, in other words, we're still committed, sir," Akana said with a broad grin. "D'you think our lives are so enjoyable now that we would back down from the chance to cause havoc on the big ugly? Sir?"  
  
Kiron grinned and laughed quietly, almost bursting with the pride he felt in his young battalion. "All right," he said. "Let's go." 


	29. Act 3, Chapter 6

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act III-  
  
A Hero's Return  
  
6  
  
"What do you want me to say?!" Kitara cried, searing agony ripping through every fibre of her being as the rack was stretched just a little further, threatening to tear her limb from limb.   
  
"I don't want you to say anything," Ganondorf murmured. "This is not an information gathering session. This is your punishment," he whispered in her ear.  
  
Kitara turned away, sobbing hoarsely as she imagined what else the King of Evil had in store. "I beg you," she pled, "just tell me what you want to know. Please…I'll tell you anything," she mumbled, nearly hysterical.  
  
"I know you would," Ganondorf replied quietly. "That's the beauty of this little device. By the time I'm done, you'll tell me anything I want to know…don't you think that if I had wanted information, I would have gotten it long ago?"  
  
Kitara let out a resigned sob at that statement. She knew he was right. If it had been information he was after, the session would have been over long ago and Kitara would have been killed and dumped somewhere in the desert, away from prying eyes. She was in for the long, excruciatingly painful death, and she knew it.  
  
She turned her head away with a quiet sob.  
  
And then the pain started again. 


	30. Act 3, Chapter 7

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act III-  
  
A Hero's Return  
  
7  
  
A cricket chirped nearby.  
  
Other than that, the only sound that could be heard on the mountain trail was the distant creaking of the windmill in Kakariko Village. There hadn't been so much as a Tektite to slow the trio's progress, nor had they seen any of the usual Goron mining parties that rolled their way between their cavernous city and the Dodongo's Cavern nearby, day or night. It didn't matter to Gorons. Something wasn't right. Link could feel it all the way down in his toes. It carried on the wind.  
  
He had a problem.  
  
As the trio descended into the village, climbing down the short stone stairway at the far gate, Link looked around in shocked amazement. The whole place was deserted. There wasn't a person in sight. Most of the buildings had boarded windows, even a few doors had wood hastily nailed across them. As for sound, there wasn't even a stray Cucco somewhere clucking its brains out. He frowned.   
  
"Is this place usually this empty?" Kate asked in a hushed voice, looking around.  
  
The sky lightened as the sun started to rise behind the windmill.  
  
Link shook his head. "No," he said quietly. "It isn't. Something is very wrong." He pulled the Ocarina from his bag and played a quick, six-note tune on it. There was a faint whinny, and then the sound of hooves in a fast gallop.  
  
A horse came trotting in through the west gate, stopped in front of Link and tossed her mane, as if sensing the urgency in the air. Link rubbed her neck fondly. "Epona, meet John and Kate."  
  
Kate smiled. "She's lovely."  
  
"Friend of yours?" John quipped.  
  
"For quite a few years," Link nodded. He smiled. "We've been together for quite a while, haven't we?"  
  
With no further attempt at an explanation, he swung up into the saddle.  
  
"Wait! Where are you going?" Kate asked.  
  
"If you two don't mind waiting, I've got a friend who lives not too far from here that might be willing to loan me a couple horses for you two," Link explained. "I should be back before nightfall."  
  
He turned and spurred Epona into a gallop.  
  
"Nightfall?!" John cried after him, but the Hero of Time was too far away to hear him. He rounded a corner on the horse and disappeared.  
  
"Well, everything we need should probably be in those packs," Kate said, pointing at Link's supplies. She shivered.  
  
"Let's just hope he's right and that he will be back before night," John said. "I'd hate to think what would happen to someone alone and unarmed in this place at night."  
  
"What do you mean, unarmed?" Kate asked quizzically.  
  
John pointed to the ground, toward the bags.  
  
"He didn't take his sword." 


	31. Act 3, Chapter 8

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act III-  
  
A Hero's Return  
  
8  
  
Zelda's frenetic pacing was interrupted by the sound of raucous laughter floating down the hallway to her ears. She steeled herself mentally, thinking it was time for another visit from Link's darker half, but soon realized that the laughter didn't belong to that monster. There were two distinct sets of laughter that accompanied the footsteps that were approaching the cell door.  
  
A laugh. "How much?" a voice asked.  
  
"Fifty," the second voice said, sounding the tiniest bit petulant.   
  
"Is that it?" the first voice, sounding kind of raspy, replied.  
  
"Yeah," Whiny affirmed. "I bet off a flat rate…" he mumbled.  
  
"That was the stupid thing," Raspy said.   
  
"Oh yeah? How much did you get off her?"  
  
"Hundred and sixty-five," Raspy said proudly.  
  
The voices drew nearer. "Yeah?" Whiny gasped.  
  
"Right."  
  
"How?"  
  
"I went five rupees for every ten minutes she lasted under that. I would have had twenty more, but she passed out thirty-three minutes into it."  
  
Whiny burst out laughing uncontrollably. "Man, those Gerudos sure can take a beating," he said callously.  
  
Zelda went cold as she realized what the two men spoke of, and she started to shake as cold anger flowed through her, freezing her mind and making her fists clench. She gritted her teeth as the voices got to the door, standing with a dark scowl upon her face.  
  
The door swung loudly open, and the two men continued to laugh as they dragged an unconscious figure into the cell. Kitara hung loosely from the arms of the two men, her head swinging from side to side with each bump.  
  
The first caught sight of Zelda's fierce, burning gaze, and the smile died from his face as he looked away, reddening with shame. The second soon followed suit, and they mutely transported Kitara to the flat metal bunk, depositing her on it. She moaned faintly as she lay there.   
  
Without a word, the pair left, shutting and locking the door behind them. After the pair had gone, Zelda did her best to bottle her rage and hurried over to the unconscious Gerudo. Kitara's breathing was shallow and labored, and a sheen of sweat covered her, making her seem to glisten in the dim light. There were marks along her shoulders that almost looked like burns, and Zelda's face went hard. As best she could, she hefted the Gerudo warrior onto the cell's flat bunk. Kitara moaned and stirred at the slight movement, and then remained still. Zelda frowned. She placed a hand on either side of Kitara's head and closed her eyes, concentrating on the injuries.  
  
Slowly, a bluish light started to grow, surrounding Kitara and seeming to absorb into her very being. It lasted for several minutes. Finally, it faded, and Zelda slumped wearily to the ground, holding onto the side of the bunk to keep from falling over. She sat down next to the bunk, realizing that Kitara's breathing was a lot less shallow. She smiled, knowing that there was nothing to be done now. Except to wait.  
  
As she sat there, the most peculiar sensation began to form inside her mind and heart. She frowned, looking around. There was no one in the room beside Kitara and herself, and yet, there was a distinct sense of a presence there, something frighteningly familiar, and yet at the same time, exhilarating. She thought for a moment, her eyes closed, and then, suddenly, it happened.  
  
She knew. As her eyes filled with tears, Zelda finally recognized the presence that now filled the month-old hole in her heart.  
  
Link was back.  
  
The Legendary Hero of Time had come home. 


	32. Act 4, Chapter 1

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
1  
  
Link dismounted, sliding from Epona's saddle as he looked around the interior of LonLon Ranch's grounds. The silence was almost eerie.   
  
No. Take that back.  
  
It was eerie.  
  
He took hold of the reins, leading the horse further onto the grounds of her former home. Link looked carefully around the ranch's large field, his scowl deepening. There was no one in sight. Not a single, solitary living thing could be seen anywhere. Epona, seeming to sense his distress, whinnied impatiently, tossing her head as her dark eyes rolled, emphasizing her unease. He turned and patted her neck, trying to comfort her. "You don't like this much, do you?" he asked quietly, almost unwilling to break the strange quiet that now inhabited the ranch. He laughed, rather wryly. "That makes two of us."  
  
He led her out into the corral. "Hello?" he called, hoping to get some answer.   
  
Any answer.  
  
Not a sound came back to his ears, not even an echo of his own call. Link frowned again, looking around. There wasn't even a stray Cucco bouncing aimlessly about the place. That in itself was disturbing, because Talon almost never went anywhere without his three little "Super Cuccos", bred especially for larger eggs. Link couldn't even see a feather.  
  
He shrugged and left Epona in the corral, ambling his way back to the ranch house and stable. He walked in the stable first, and to his relief, found the cows where they should be, but only two horses out of the four they'd had at his last visit. From there, he wandered over to the house and turned the knob. Not quite surprised that it was unlocked-Talon's door was rarely locked-Link pushed the door open and let himself in. "Hello?" he said again. "Anybody here?"  
  
The response was immediate, and came in the form of an almost painful pressure against the middle of his back and a constricting arm around his neck. Link jumped, and his hands shot instantly into the air. "Whoa, take it easy!" he said quickly. "I'm unarmed."  
  
The pressure eased a bit, and that was when the Hero of Time made his move. In a lightning-fast motion, Link grabbed hold of the arm at his throat and pulled hard, bending at his waist. His attacker went flying over his head to land with a crash against the table in the center of the room.  
  
His assailant was thin and a little short, and was also wearing a hooded tunic and black mask. Link didn't have much time to relax, because his attacker quickly stood and lunged at him again, the knife flashing as it came for his throat. Link jumped back out of the way, and clutched at the hand holding the knife. Determined and a bit angry at having his life threatened, Link repeatedly slammed the fist holding the knife into the wall. Eventually, pain overcame the need to hold on, and knife dropped from his assailant's hand. Instead, his attacker swung a hard left hook at Link's head. He was only able to dodge partway, enough to redirect the blow onto his shoulder. He winced, but kept holding the assailant's other hand.  
  
Seeing the futility of swinging wildly, his attacker went for his throat. A strong grip on his neck, Link's attacker got both hands firmly around his throat when he let go of the stranger's other hand to attempt prying the hands away. He gasped as his assailant started to squeeze, and began clawing more desperately at his assailant's hands.  
  
Finally, he stopped clawing at the hands around his neck and started pushing against the stranger's shoulders. Together, they staggered around the interior of the ranch house, knocking over milk cans and shattering pitchers as they continued their fatal dance.   
  
Link swung upward with one foot and booted his assailant in the stomach. The stranger let go with a convulsive shudder at the impact, coughing hoarsely. Link wasted no time in swinging a hard fist at his assailant's face. The masked stranger dodged the swing, and once more, wrapped his (then again, Link wasn't so sure it was a 'he') hands around Link's throat. Link went for his attacker's throat, and locked together, they stumbled and staggered up the stairs to the second floor landing. They twisted and turned, and finally, the stranger gave Link a good push, shoving him crashing through the door to the second floor bedroom. Link didn't loosen his grip on his assailant, and together, they moved jerkily back out onto the landing.   
  
Then, something struck him in the back of the head.  
  
Hard.  
  
He gasped involuntarily as intense pain shot through his back and neck. His arms loosened their hold on his assailant. Stubbornly, Link held on, even when his attacker swung him out over the landing. The only thing keeping Link from falling to land on his back on the first floor was his tenuous hold on his attacker's throat. Realizing that he would probably take the stranger with him, his attacker pulled him up from the ledge, where the second aggressor hit him over the head again. Dazed, Link's arms dropped away from his attacker's neck, and he stumbled toward the landing. A third blow to the head sent him reeling, and he tumbled off of the balcony, flipping head over heels to land on his back on the hard wooden floor. Link's head snapped back and hit the floor, and then everything went black. 


	33. Act 4, Chapter 2

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
2  
  
Kate shivered for the third time since night had fallen fifteen minutes before. It wasn't just the cold, either, though it didn't help her mood. Kate had to admit, at least to herself, that she was a little afraid. She shivered for time number four, and drew her arms close, rubbing them briskly. She looked up at the star-filled sky, the velvety black with carelessly scattered diamonds glittering brightly, and sighed. The Hylian moon was just making its way over the horizon. The night, in Kate's opinion, was going to be very long, and very, VERY cold.  
  
John looked over at her, noting her goose bumps, and grinned. "You cold?"  
  
She nodded. "A little."  
  
He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it across her shoulders. "Here."  
  
She smiled. "Thank you," Kate said. "But won't you need it?"  
  
"What kind of man would I be if I sat here in perfect comfort while such a pretty lady froze to death?" he quipped. "Nah, I'll be fine."  
  
Kate returned her gaze to the stars. "He should have been back by now," she said, her voice full of concern.  
  
John didn't answer right away. "Maybe he got held up somewhere," he offered, the response not helping to lighten Kate's mood.  
  
"What if he's not coming back?" she asked worriedly.   
  
"I'm sure he'd come back. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who would abandon anybody."   
  
"That's not what I meant. What if something happened to him?"  
  
"This is his home, Katie," John reasoned. "I'm sure he knows his way around better than that," he said, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.  
  
"But…what if somebody surprised him? What if he got ambushed…or mugged…or-"  
  
"Kathryn." John said her name in such a tone that she couldn't ignore him. "Would you stop with the what ifs? You're going to drive yourself crazy. You're already driving me crazy."  
  
She sighed. "I'm just…a little scared," she admitted.  
  
"I figured," he replied dryly.  
  
"You can't tell me you aren't worried," she challenged.  
  
"I won't tell you that," he agreed. "I'm a little unnerved, too. And a little cold." He stood and started fishing around in the duffle bag. He smiled upon finding a pair of small flint rocks. He gathered a small pile of small tree branches and fallen leaves, piling them together with some larger sticks of wood, and then struck the flints together several times, grinning when a spark caught on the pile of kindling and set it ablaze, a tiny orange flame quickly growing to a cheerful warmth. "That oughta fix the cold part," he said, nodding in satisfaction.  
  
Kate smiled. "That'll do nicely," she agreed.  
  
He grinned, sitting down next to her. "Feel better?"  
  
She hesitated. No reason to start lying then. "No," she sighed. "I don't."  
  
"Well, I'm sure he'll be back at least by morning, so if you want to, you can go to sleep and I'll keep watch."  
  
She stared at him. "Keep watch?" she echoed. "What on earth for? The place is deserted."  
  
"Well, I'm certainly not going to leave a lady of such consummate beauty unprotected through the harsh Hylian night," stated, so matter-of-factly that Kate stared at him in surprise, her jaw dropping. "You might want to shut that," he said calmly, "before your face freezes."  
  
Blushing, she closed her mouth. "Did you mean that?" she asked.  
  
He nodded. "Would I say it if I didn't?"  
  
That was true. John wasn't someone who said things he didn't mean. She smiled. Her fear started to disappear on the breeze, and she scooted up close to John, and put her head on his shoulder. "Thank you," she said. "You're not so bad yourself," she added.  
  
He grinned. "Go to sleep, Katie," he replied.  
  
She giggled. "But there are so many interesting things we could talk about," she said, her eyes wide and innocent.  
  
"Oh, we don't want that," he said, mock serious.   
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because one thing always leads to another," he said. "You say something, I say something back, and then, before you know it, one of us is going to end up saying something like 'I love you', and that would be frightfully embarrassing, wouldn't it?"  
  
The smile faded from her face. "Oh," she said, disappointed. "I don't think it would be that bad," she suggested.  
  
"Really?" he said, his curiosity perked.   
  
"Yup."  
  
"Hmmm…so you wouldn't mind if I said that you might just be one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen and that even if something did happen where we never saw each other again, I'd never meet anyone as beautiful as you?"  
  
She stared icily at him.  
  
"What?" he asked innocently. "What'd I say?"  
  
"One of the most beautiful?" she repeated dangerously.  
  
"Oh, you're worried about that?"  
  
Her gaze told him to watch his next few words very carefully.   
  
"The most beautiful, then," he said, trying to smile, though it was a very uneasy one.  
  
"Why so antsy?"  
  
"I'm a little worried, too, Kate. He didn't take anything to defend himself with, and he didn't come back when he said he was going to. The evidence doesn't point toward anything good."  
  
"I'm glad I'm not paranoid."  
  
"I never said that," he countered.  
  
"Oh, fine." 


	34. Act 4, Chapter 3

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
3  
  
The first thing Link noticed upon regaining consciousness was the pounding headache. He tried to sit up.   
  
The second thing Link noticed was the fact that he already was sitting up. He blinked a few times, trying to reorient himself with his surroundings. He moved as if to run a hand through his hair.  
  
Then came the realization that his arms and legs were bound tightly to the wooden chair in which he sat. Link tried a few times to maybe loosen the knots that held him bound, but found that it would be near impossible. The ropes that held him were as strong as steel. Upon hearing distinctive footsteps coming toward his location, the captive Hero of Time decided to play dead and see if he could find out anything about his captors and the people who had apparently taken control of LonLon Ranch.  
  
He feigned unconsciousness, his ears straining for the slightest sound.  
  
The door creaked open, and three distinct sets of footprints walked in. There was a disgusted sigh, and one of them spoke. "Just how long is he going to be unconscious?" a chillingly familiar voice asked irritably.  
  
Ingo. Link felt a slow burn starting. Ingo had obviously sold out Talon and Malon to whomever had taken over. Link could only imagine what had happened to the two ranchers. Ingo cuffed him hard on the shoulder, and Link fought to keep from reacting.  
  
"Calm down, Ingo," a second voice said, one that made his train of thought derail. Talon. Maybe I was wrong…but-why would they attack me?!  
  
"Was it really necessary to hit him so hard, Daddy?" a third voice said, and Link's blood ran cold. Malon. "And did you have to hit him three times?"  
  
Something was very wrong.  
  
Link decided to 'wake up'.  
  
His eyes opened on three figures standing before him. Ingo had no mask and no hood, just glared down at him, looking surlier than usual. Talon and Malon pulled their own hoods and masks off. Malon looked unsurely at her father. "Doesn't he…look a little…softer?" she asked hesitantly. "The hair isn't right…the skin isn't dark…"  
  
I can't have changed that much, Link thought wryly, it's only been a month. Give or take a couple days.  
  
Talon shook his head, his eyes hard. "Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed. "You know full well he's dead. It's got to be that double of his."  
  
Dead? What the hell?! Link nearly jumped right from his seat at that statement. Anger seared trails through his mind. Ganondorf…he's been spreading rumors that I'm dead…not a chance in hell.  
  
"No, Malon, it is me, I promise," he spoke up.  
  
She stared dubiously at him.   
  
"Prove it," Talon said, and Link knew he meant it. "Prove it's you and that you're not that slimy creature who's been parading around saying he's you."  
  
"How did we meet?" Malon asked.  
  
Link knew he was going to have to be very careful here. "I was in the Castle Town Market, on my way to the castle. You were just sort of standing around, looking for someone. Later on, you told me your father, the all-wise, all-knowing Talon, had gone to the castle to make a milk delivery and hadn't come back yet. I said I'd find him, you gave me a Cucco egg, and off I went. Later on, after I found him, I came back to your ranch for a visit, and charmed Epona off her hooves with a certain song…"  
  
And with that, he began to whistle the tune Malon had taught him so many years ago.  
  
Ingo shook his head in amazement. "I'll be the son of a motherless goat," he breathed.  
  
Link nodded. "Most likely," he said.  
  
Ingo sputtered.  
  
Talon started to laugh.  
  
Malon, on the other hand, was more emotional. She threw her arms around Link's neck and hugged him so hard he couldn't breathe.  
  
"I'll need my ribs more or less in one piece, Malon," he wheezed. "Not to mention it'd be nice if I could feel my fingers."  
  
She pulled away. "Oh!!" With an embarrassed blush, Malon quickly untied the ropes binding Link to the wooden kitchen chair. He stood and walked over to Talon. He stuck out a hand. "Nice to see you," he said calmly.  
  
Talon hadn't been able to meet Link's eyes.  
  
He smiled at Link's greeting, finally looking up. "Welcome home, son," he said warmly.   
  
Link grinned. "Nice to hear that. It was the welcome I was actually expecting in the first place. Now, tell me what happened," he said.   
  
Talon's eyes got hard. "For the first few days after you disappeared-and we're going to have a long talk about that later, son-there was no word from the palace, just that the search was still on. And then, suddenly, all outgoing news stopped. We got word two days later from one of the Castle Town refugees that Ganondorf had come back and taken the castle without much of a fight, that you were either dead or turned on us. That's when I knew it was that black shadow creature Ganondorf created, traipsing around, wreaking havoc and sullyin' your name, boy. Next thing we knew, there were horse thieves left and right coming at the ranch, trying to steal us blind. Guess they figured that even if you weren't dead, we didn't matter a whole lot anymore, and so they could just come in and do whatever they wanted without fear of retribution. So we've had to take up the practice of running people out." Talon shrugged.  
  
Link looked up sharply. "Then that means it was that accursed phantom of his that almost killed me…" he clenched his fists. "There's going to be hell to pay for this," he promised.  
  
"Don't I know it," Malon laughed. "When you came along," Malon continued, "we all figured it was just that shade come to screw around with the horses again. And when you wouldn't just back out and leave, well…" she looked faintly uneasy. Link couldn't quite figure out why. "You know the rest."  
  
"It is good to see you back, son," Talon repeated.  
  
"It's good to be back," Link said. "And it'll be even better once that tyrant's gone for good."  
  
Out in the yard, Link sat once more atop his trusty steed, grasping the reins of two more horses. "I owe you for two," Link said.  
  
Talon laughed. "For three," he corrected.  
  
Link's eyes widened. "What?" he blurted. "I know, for these two, but-"  
  
"You're sittin' on her, boy," Talon gestured at Epona.  
  
"What?!" Link cried. "Oh, hey, come on, you know I'm the only one besides Malon who can get near her, much less ride her," he protested.  
  
Talon laughed even harder. "I'm only pulling your leg, Link," he said. "Lighten up!"  
  
Link nodded, accepting the rib gracefully. "All right. But I will be back to pay you for these two after I cream a certain persistent pest," he promised.  
  
"I know you will," Talon waved him off. "There was never any worry about that."  
  
"Oh, and Link?" Malon added.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Uhm…" she seemed uneasy about something.  
  
"What, Pretty?" he asked. 'Pretty' was Link's favorite nickname for Malon.  
  
She blushed and continued to look uneasy. "Uhm…I'm sorry about…you know…holding a knife to your back…and all…" she twisted her hands together with the air of someone who is horribly embarrassed.  
  
His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He jerked his thumb back toward the ranch house. "You mean-" he cut off.  
  
Talon started to chuckle as Malon nodded unhappily.  
  
"You mean…" Link couldn't seem to get past it. "That was you what kicked my ass all over the ranch house?"  
  
She nodded again, just as unhappy. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "It's just that-well, we thought you were dead, and then when you came barging in last night-"  
  
"Just like always," Talon muttered, half-seriously.  
  
"We thought you were that stupid damn shadow, and it made me so mad, and…well…" she smiled. "I won't tell anybody if you don't want me to."  
  
"Watch your mouth, girl," Talon growled.   
  
"Sorry."  
  
Link nodded, still in awe of Malon's skills. "Thanks?" he said, but his tone made it sound more like a question.  
  
Malon giggled. "Sorry," she said again, and shrugged.  
  
Link grinned and waved farewell to the ranchers, and started on his way back to Kakariko, the sunrise beckoning onward.  
  
Malon waved after him. "Be careful!!" she called.  
  
"I promise!" he called back.  
  
She grinned. "And don't get killed!!" she screeched.  
  
"Yes, mother!" Link yelled back with a smile as he rode out of sight. 


	35. Act 4, Chapter 4

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
4  
  
Kate opened her eyes and yawned, looking up into the dawn sky. The Hylian sunrise was truly beautiful, misty greys and violets mixing with the first vestiges of the blue that would become a brilliant shade of azure later in the day. Wispy clouds floated along, stirred by the winds of morning. Kate glanced down at their makeshift fire pit and smiled ruefully. What had been a cheerfully roaring fire was now reduced to mere embers, with dying threads of smoke curling up to dissipate in the cool air. She sat up straight and pulled John's jacket form her shoulders, draping it over him as she stifled a giggle. His head was tipped back against the large, ancient pine tree they sat under, his mouth hanging slightly open.  
  
She grinned, trying not to laugh. He looked so…  
  
Cute? Harmless? There were so many good words to fit. Kate stood, walking in a small circle around the tree to work the stiffness out of her legs. Kakariko was actually a cute little village. The eerie feeling she'd had didn't seem so bad in the morning, and Kate could almost imagine what the small town would be like if the villagers were actually there where they should have been. She closed her eyes and tried to see if she could hear, at least in her mind, some echo of how the village was supposed to sound.  
  
Chattering townspeople, the sound of maybe a chicken or two in that little fenced in pen, maybe some children playing, or a horse or two belonging to someone visiting from out of town.  
  
Except…the hooves of the horses connecting with the grassy soil seemed too close. Kate opened her eyes and saw a welcome sight indeed. Link rode through the front gate, two horses being led alongside his own. She grinned. "it's nice to see you back so soon," she heard John say drolly.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Be nice," she chided, stepping back around to face them.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Seriously, though," she turned back to the Hylian. "What kept you so long?"  
  
Link made a face. "Mistakes were made," he admitted, "and I underestimated an old friend." He thought of Malon's admission, and decided not to say anything.  
  
Kate grinned. "Which one do I get to ride?" she asked.  
  
Link gestured to the palomino at his left. "This one," he said, seems, for some reason, to be just perfect."  
  
She grinned. "I have always loved palominos," she admitted. Swinging up into the saddle, she looked down at John. "what are you waiting for, Johnny boy?" she asked. "That horse ain't gonna steer itself."  
  
He grinned, a bit sheepishly. "Actually, the closest I ever got to actually riding a horse was at the pony rides at the State Fair when we were kids, Kate."  
  
She sighed. "Well, now's a fine time to dump that on me. Just climb up onto the horse as best you can. We'll be here to help keep you from falling off."  
  
He nodded, clambering up into the saddle, where he swayed unsteadily. The trio started off toward the castle, and before too long, John seemed to have figured out what he was doing. Enough, at least, so that he didn't seem so slanted, so near to falling off.  
  
The trio set up camp near the eastern side of the castle gates that night, setting a small fire to keep warm through the night. Link took first watch, volunteering to spend a few hours keeping an eye out for unwelcome guests. When the sun finally rose, they continued their journey. Link paused for a moment at the castle's gate, which had been torn violently from its restraining chains and was now floating loosely in the moat. The moat itself carried an oily sheen on its surface, covered in the remaining bits of ash from what had obviously been a severe attack.   
  
And then he looked up.  
  
Blackened, scarred, and pockmarked, the centerstone of the huge granite arch that led into the village proper now carried a huge, charred crater where the elegant emblem of Hyrule's royalty once stood.  
  
If anything ever was, that in itself was an omen of what was to come.   
  
Without a word or a second glance at the centerstone, Link led Kate and John past the pile of charred wood and into the village's remains. 


	36. Act 4, Chapter 5

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
5  
  
Clank.  
  
Zelda's head came up sharply. Clank. There it was again.  
  
Clank.  
  
Clank.   
  
Clank.  
  
Measured timing, to be sure. Which meant that it wasn't just some animal. She sighed. "Haven't you found anyone else that you'd rather play with?" she asked wearily. Zelda didn't bother to get up. That only meant that she'd have to actually look at that mockery of her Hero.   
  
The shade laughed, that same cold, mocking sound. "You're much more fun than my other playmates, Princess," he replied urbanely.  
  
"Swell," she sighed. Still seated on the floor, Zelda glanced over at Kitara, who seemed to be sleeping more peacefully now that her wounds had been at least partially healed. Zelda doubted if she would even have been able to stand at that point.  
  
Clank.  
  
"Must you do that?"  
  
"Does it bother you?" he retorted.  
  
She shrugged. "Not so much. I was just wondering if it kept your mind occupied while you thought of new and interesting ways to irritate me." Somehow, he didn't seem as bad with the knowledge that Link was coming. Zelda felt like she could just ignore all the baiting and irritation for just that little while longer.  
  
"Passes the time."  
  
"Of course, you must have a lot of time to kill in between new torture ideas," Zelda said with a bit of a smile.  
  
There was silence for a moment. "Oh, now you've gone and hurt my feelings, Princess."  
  
Clank.  
  
"You don't have feelings," Zelda sighed. "We've been over that, too."  
  
She didn't have to be able to see him to know that the shade was smiling. "But do you really know if I don't?" he asked teasingly. "I know how you could find out for sure," he said, his tone suggestive.  
  
"If you can do nothing more to me than to bring lewd suggestions, then you are wasting your time. I would never cross paths with the likes of you," Zelda snapped.  
  
Clank.  
  
Silence.  
  
Slow footsteps and fading laughter told her that the shade was leaving.  
  
"Not a moment too soon," Zelda muttered sourly. "I really hope Link gets back here soon. And I hope he doesn't find that shadow of his. Because I really want a piece of that thing."  
  
There was a low moan from the cell's flat bunk, and Kitara stirred. "Whoo…" she mumbled, sitting up with one shaky hand to her forehead. "Who ran me over, and with how many horses?" she asked faintly, squinting from the intense headache that was pounding on the inside of her eyelids.  
  
Zelda couldn't help but smile. "He was torturing you," the princess replied bluntly.  
  
"So I wasn't run down by a stampede of wild horses," she verified.  
  
Zelda shook her head, a bit sadly. "No. I wish it had been that simple."  
  
"Are you feeling all right, Highness?" Kitara asked, looking a little closer at Zelda.  
  
Zelda waved her off. "I'm fine, really," she said.  
  
"You look a bit pale," Kitara continued. "They haven't done anything to you, have they?"  
  
Zelda shook her head quickly. "No, nothing like that," she said. "My power as Sage of Wisdom allows me to partially heal the wounds and ease the pain of those around me if I so choose."  
  
Kitara's eyes widened. "You-"  
  
Zelda nodded. "I was able to correct some of the damage," she said, "but most of the scar tissue is very frail. Don't stand up too fast, or you'll really hurt yourself."  
  
"How much energy did you lend me?" Kitara asked in a hushed voice.  
  
"I had to be sure you would make it," Zelda said cryptically. "You were precarious, at best."  
  
Kitara swallowed. "Are you going to be all right?" she asked worriedly.  
  
Zelda nodded, somewhat tiredly. "My energy returns after a time. Give me a little while, and I'll be all right."  
  
"You took my pain on yourself, didn't you?" Kitara asked next.  
  
Zelda smiled. "In case you hadn't noticed, we've got an escape to plan," she said, deftly sidestepping the question.  
  
Kitara shook her head. "Are you always like this?" she asked.  
  
Zelda didn't answer. That was all right. Kitara hadn't really expected one.  
  
"I think I would like to sleep now," Zelda said suddenly. She tried to stand, but her legs wouldn't support her full weight and she wobbled unsteadily. Kitara rushed over.  
  
"Here. Let me help." She put one arm around Zelda's shoulders and helped her over to the flat bunk. Carefully, Zelda sat down and then tried to make herself comfortable on the hard surface. Within minutes, she was asleep. 


	37. Act 4, Chapter 6

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
6  
  
Kiron peered down the last bit of the short stretch of the passageway before it connected with the throne room. Luckily, the entrance to the throne room was behind several large stone carvings, so they weren't easily noticed. "This is it," he said. "Are you ready to go?"  
  
"Respectfully restating our desire to give him hell, sir," Akana said with a vindictive grin.  
  
Kiron couldn't help but smile. "Good spirit, soldier," he nodded. "Let's go." Motioning, Kiron counted to three, and then gave the order. The small brigade surged forward and out past the stone statues and into the sea of startled people. Ganondorf stared in shock at the incoming tide of Hylian soldiers for but a moment, and then turned his own venomous gaze to his own soldiers.   
  
"Don't just stand there, you idiots!" the King of Evil bellowed. "Kill them! Kill them all!!"  
  
Kiron suddenly found himself awash in a sea of opponents. He had hoped to be able to keep an eye on his own soldiers, but that now seemed impossible as five men surrounded him, all attacking at once.  
  
Kiron, however, hadn't lived as long as he had by reacting slowly. Before almost any time had passed, Kiron was the only one left standing in his small circle. A furious blur of motion had taken all of his aggressors down with it. He grinned. "So there, Link. Next time you want to call me old, I'll just bring up this little house party. Heh."  
  
Kiron looked around to see where he could be most of use to his men and saw Akana being backed up against a wall by eight different members of Ganondorf's personal guard. "Mmm…" he squinted at them, "one…two…thr-eight of you…and, let's see…only two of us…gee, I'm worried." With that, Kiron threw himself into the fight. It was becoming possible that his meager forces might have a shot at winning. Kiron paused, bent over, and wiped his longsword clean on the tunic of one of the fallen, and surveyed the field of battle once again. Noticing something, he grinned wickedly. Ganondorf, for the moment, at least, was unprotected. It wasn't an opportunity he could bring himself to pass up.  
  
Before the King of Evil knew what had happened, there was a very irate Hylian general standing on the dais with a large, very sharp sword in his face, the tip resting lightly against his neck. "What-" he started, but a little pressure from Kiron's unwavering blade told him that the most prudent course was to hold his tongue.  
  
"Call off your men," Kiron said quietly, "or I start pushing." He smiled.  
  
Ganondorf didn't say anything.  
  
"Do it," Kiron growled, pressing the tip of his sword ever so slightly.  
  
Ganondorf reluctantly called his men to a halt. They stared at him in shock. One even went so far as to start moving forward, but Kiron waved his free hand in the man's direction. "Don't do it unless you want him dead," he warned.  
  
The soldier stopped.  
  
Kiron smiled. "See how much easier this is if we all agree? Now, have them drop their weapons."  
  
Again, Ganondorf refused to reply.  
  
Kiron pressed hard enough to pierce the skin. "Do you want a second smile?" he asked savagely.  
  
"Do as he says," Ganondorf said sullenly.  
  
"But-sire!" one of his men objected.  
  
Kiron's eyes went hard. "Wrong answer," he said flatly.  
  
Valik stepped up behind the objecting soldier and rapped him sharply across the back of his head with the hilt of his sword. The man's eyes glazed over and he toppled limply to the ground.  
  
Kiron smiled. "Thank you, Lieutenant." He turned back to Ganondorf. "Now, I'm really not the type of person who kills a defenseless man in cold blood," he said pleasantly, "but I know if I let you live, you'll just come back and raise hell all over again."  
  
Akana listened warily to Kiron's conversation with the King of Evil, a growing sense of unease kicking him swiftly in the head. Suddenly, and with horrible clarity, Akana realized what the problem was. And he also realized that there was another reason besides the Legendary Master Sword that made Link the only individual who could be in such close range with Ganondorf for an extended period of time.  
  
The Triforce.  
  
The Triforce of Power, which had been in the King of Evil's grasp for years now, had been twisted and corrupted by that vile sorcerer's evil, black heart. And anyone who was within its presence for too long inevitably became corrupted as well. It wasn't simply a matter of skill. Kiron was one of the most skilled swordsmen in all of Hyrule. It was the protection Link received from the Triforce of Courage. It shielded his innocence from the effects of the Power segment that Ganondorf carried within his black heart. This was wrong. Akana knew it. And he also knew that if he didn't get Kiron away from it in time, the grizzled general was doomed.  
  
Carefully and unobtrusively, Akana started to edge toward the dais, without any real plan of how he was going to get Kiron away from the King of Evil. He simply knew something had to be done, and it had to be done now. "I've got to get him away from there," he murmured to himself, "before he's driven mad."  
  
Meanwhile, up before the throne, Kiron was deteriorating rapidly. He glared unsteadily at Ganondorf, a self-satisfied smile on his face. This was not good. "On your knees, scum," Kiron spat. He didn't even realize that his own soldiers were beginning to look at him with something akin to fear.  
  
Ganondorf sneered at him. "Or what?"  
  
"This," Kiron said simply, and once more, started to push.  
  
The tip of his sword dug once more into Ganondorf's neck, and the evil king glared at Kiron, sliding reluctantly to his knees.  
  
Kiron raised his sword high over his head, not even realizing that this is a very bad position to be in when someone is at a lower height than you.  
  
With a cold, smug smile, Ganondorf balled his fists together and drove them hard into Kiron's stomach. The general tried to inhale, his sword dropping from suddenly numb fingers to hit the floor with a loud clang that resounded in the stunned silence. He collapsed to his knees, trying to breathe without much success. Akana gaped.  
  
Ganondorf slowly rose to his feet, wiping the blood away from his chin. He drew the heavy iron sword that had become his trademark and began to pull it slowly toward the ceiling.  
  
"No!" Akana roared, dashing forward from his place of concealment behind the draped tapestries that lined the room. Ganondorf turned that baleful golden stare on the determined lieutenant, who slid to a stop, suddenly frozen in place by the piercing stare. The King of Evil's eyes narrowed, glowing with a sudden crimson fire. Akana's mind screamed for a defense, for him to move out of the way, for something, but he couldn't seem to get his feet to respond to his brains commands, and simply stood there, frozen by his fear. Ganondorf took an appraising look at Akana and smiled.  
  
He raised a hand and watched clinically as a ball of pulsating black energy swirled about his fingertips. And still, Akana was helpless to do anything. He had to stand and merely watch as the great ball of darkness shot toward him. The ball made contact, sending the soldier flying. He careened through the air, to slam hard against the far wall, and there was a sickening crunch as something cracked. Akana slid limply to the floor and didn't move.  
  
Kiron just prayed it wasn't the boy's neck. Still gasping, Kiron very quietly started to swear.  
  
Moments later, he would learn that being on one's knees is a very bad place to be when one has just pissed off a very large, very dangerous man. Ganondorf sauntered back over to Kiron and delivered a swift kick to the general's ribs that set him writhing on the floor in pain. Ganondorf kicked Kiron twice more just for the fun of it, smiling when he heard the snapping sound that told him that he had broken ribs. Satisfied that he had made a good example of the Hylian general, he delivered the final blow-a beam of pure darkness that that sent Kiron spiraling down into oblivion.  
  
Oh, damn…Kiron thought, This was really stupid. Goddesses forgive me if I've gotten anyone killed…  
  
Before he lost consciousness, Kiron heard Ganondorf start to laugh as he ordered that Kiron and his men be rounded up and sent to the dungeon while they awaited his decided punishment. 


	38. Act 4, Chapter 7

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
7  
  
  
  
"What happened to this place?" Kate whispered in abject horror at the scene before her.  
  
Hyrule Castle Town was nothing more than charred ruins. Where once before children had run, laughing and playing while contented parents and their fellow townspeople conversed and went about their business in peaceful happiness, lonely wind spread a blanket of solemn silence over the cracked, dirty cobblestone of the village square. "Ganondorf," Link replied grimly. The fountain, which had once sputtered cheerfully in the center of the village square, was now a pile of charred marble bits, the ground dark around it where the water spilled carelessly out onto the ground. Kate noted Link's fists, clenching and unclenching in an attempt to control his anger. "He's done it again," Link said, his voice dreadfully quiet. There was an ominous note in his tone, one that promised retribution and would stop at nothing less.  
  
"He did it before?" John asked in shock.  
  
Link nodded. "Once, years ago. I thought he would have learned not to screw with these people, but…" he shrugged, adjusting the shield on his back. "Some lessons have to be learned the hard way. Let's go. And watch out for shambling, half-human things. They like eating people for some reason."  
  
Kate shuddered. "You mean like those?" she asked, pointing at four shambling creatures that were moaning disturbingly and headed slowly their way.  
  
"Ah, hell," Link growled. "Run!"  
  
Kate nodded and dashed forward, tripping and sprawling head over heels as her foot caught on a chunk of marble in her path. "Ouch!" she said, rubbing her ankle. She stood up-and looked one of the monstrosities right in the face.  
  
Its eerie glare, combined with that strange moan, froze her where she stood.  
  
It shambled a step closer. Somehow, Kate seemed stuck by its chilling stare. It pierced her to the bone. "Oh, damn," she muttered.  
  
John was in the same predicament as his friend, for he had run smack into a group of the things, which were now closing in on him and slowly surrounding the paralyzed Californian.  
  
Link, after shredding a large group of them, heard a chilling sound. The shrill, horrible shriek that was the ReDead's killing song. He turned. Sighing, he made his way over to John, who was getting increasingly unnerved as they shambled closer and closer. Careful not to look any of the shambling things in the eyes, Link shook his head reproachfully. "I can't take you two anywhere, can I?" he asked.  
  
"Ha, ha. Could you please do something about this?" John asked. "We can all laugh about this later-after I've taken a long bath."  
  
"Yes, Link," Kate said, her voice pained. "Please-kill something, would you? It's your job, isn't it?"  
  
Link shook his head once more and went to work, grimly hacking the corpse-like monsters into little bits which shriveled and blew away as he finished his job. "Let's get moving before any more of those things find out that their friends aren't coming back," Link said. "And this time, don't look at anything until you're absolutely positive it won't try to eat you."  
  
Kate shuddered. "Is anyone else as creeped out by this as I am?" she asked.  
  
Link nodded, returning his sword to its sheath. "Always have been. Come on!" 


	39. Act 4, Chapter 8

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
8  
  
"Kiron!"  
  
"General, come on, snap out of it, sir!"  
  
Kiron opened his eyes and blinked at the fuzzy, indistinct outline of a face leaning over him. "What happened?" he asked groggily. "Did somebody run me over with a herd of horses?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"Oh, good, he hasn't lost his sense of humor," a voice said.  
  
Another laughed. "Good sign. I think he's going to need it," the second voice replied.  
  
"Did I go blind?" Kiron asked, sitting up a bit faster than he should have.  
  
"No, sir," Akana responded, albeit a little weakly himself, "it's just dark in here." His arm was bound in a sling, shoulder having been shattered by the force with which he'd hit the wall beneath Ganondorf's attack.  
  
"Which raises an interesting point that no one has explained to me yet," Kiron said further, "where is here?"  
  
"The dungeons underneath the palace," Taran remarked, amused.  
  
Kiron laughed, even though it made his ribs hurt. "I always wondered what it was like to be on the inside of one of these things," he mused.   
  
"Permission to start an escape attempt," one younger lieutenant said briskly.  
  
Kiron shook his head. "No need, I think," he said.   
  
There was a hush as his words sunk into his soldiers' minds. "What do you mean 'no need'?" Akana asked bluntly.  
  
"Actually, I'm not rightly sure," Kiron replied bluntly. "But I've got this…feeling that we won't be helping anyway if we start charging into things."   
  
He could tell from the dubious expressions on their faces that his men weren't reacting well to his limited explanation.  
  
"Look, you've trusted me this far," Kiron said, "and so far, have I let you down?"  
  
"No, sir!" Valik replied, drawing murmurs of assent from the assembled soldiers.  
  
"Good. Then trust me again," Kiron pled fervently. "I'm not going to let anything happen," he assured them. "Whatever happens to you, happens to me."  
  
And that, in itself, was what made Kiron's armies so willing to follow him to the ends of the earth and back if needs be: That one, single, absolutely willing dedication he had that sent him to the front lines with his battalions. The fact that he was willing to fight alongside his armies and suffer their fate with them, even if it be death.  
  
Or worse.  
  
"I promise. So trust me when I say that for now, the best thing we could do would be to remain here," Kiron said again. "Please take my word for this. I don't know how I know, but I just know that the tides are turning. Somehow, very, very soon, something good is going to happen. I just know it." 


	40. Act 4, Chapter 9

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
9  
  
Link looked up at the castle's exterior, he jaw dropping in horror. "Goddesses," he whispered. "I don't believe it."  
  
Kate couldn't speak. The sheer horror she felt upon gazing at the castle's war-torn exterior closed her throat and made her want to weep. She choked out a single sentence. "He did this in a month?" she asked faintly, and there was no asking which 'he' she meant.  
  
Link nodded, at a loss for wards.  
  
"My word," John murmured.  
  
Hyrule Castle, which had once been a shining, granite fortress of safety and warmth, was not even a former shell of itself. The towers and turrets were scared by strafed marks of black, craters pockmarked over every surface, and a portion of the main wall was caved in, making the castle look even more bleak than it had at first glance. Link stared up at it, letting the image of a ruined Hyrule sink into his mind, to harden his resolve into a diamond-strength wall. There was no way Link was going to let that monster get away with ruining his home.  
  
Ganondorf would pay.  
  
Soon.  
  
"If you want to wait here, you can," he said quietly.  
  
Kate just shook her head. "Don't be silly," she said firmly. "We're not going to ditch you now."  
  
John nodded. "What she said," he said simply. "Forget about it, Link. We're the ones who wanted to come."  
  
Kate laughed, looking around at the foreboding landscape. "Silly us," she muttered sourly. "Besides, I'd rather be there with you and that sword, where there is some degree of protection-"  
  
"No matter how small, since there's two of us and one of you," John interrupted.  
  
"Than out here where only god knows what has a free shot at a Madison for lunch," Kate grinned at Link after shooting her partner a look. "We're going with."  
  
"If you're so bent on it," Link said, "then we had better get going. He's probably picked up my presence by now, because I can definitely tell that he's in there." Link tried to avoid, whenever possible, speaking of Ganondorf by name. It just made Link mad. "We've always been able to tell when the other is nearby."  
  
Kate nodded.  
  
"Lead the way," John replied.  
  
Nodding, Link started toward the castle, sword clenched tightly in his left hand.  
  
Within the castle, things were just as bleak as had been outside. Blast marks here and there showed that Ganondorf had used less-than-controlled bursts of his power to subdue the Hylian guardsmen. This was also evidenced by the bodies littering the hallways. Link's face grew harder and harder with every step, and he seemed to be withdrawing into a shell of fury. Kate was almost afraid to speak to him. "Where are we going first?" she asked, barely audible. Afraid to be heard, and afraid to break the awful blanket of silence that coated everything.  
  
Link pointed toward one doorway to a set of stairs that wound down and out of sight. "The dungeons," he said shortly. "We never had to use them, but I'll bet you anything he's got them full to the rafters."  
  
Kate nodded. "All right."  
  
Keeping watch for any of Ganondorf's forces, the trio made their way silently down the stairway. At the bottom, Link opened a door slowly and heard voices on the other side. He motioned for John and Kate to get back by the wall, and then he crept forward, sword at the ready, in case of anything unsavory that might jump out and want him for lunch. The voices got louder as he progressed through the dungeon, with his two friends following closely behind. Link's eyes suddenly widened and he slipped his sword silently back in its sheath as a wide grin split his face.   
  
"What?" Kate whispered.  
  
"Just a minute, and I'll introduce you," Link said cryptically.  
  
He walked calmly over to one of the large cells and stuck a long, thin piece of wire in the lock. He worked the wire around inside the lock, and smiled when it opened with a satisfying click.  
  
"Who's there?" a voice asked sharply, and the murmured sounds of conversation ceased instantly.  
  
Link opened the door. "Who else?" he asked blandly.  
  
"Why, you sneaky, good for nothing, son of a-"   
  
"Hey, now, remember," Link said quickly, "I just helped you escape. If you don't be nice, Kiron, I might just put you back in there and let your men out." He grinned.  
  
"All right, all right, nevermind," the voice growled, and a man with dark hair that was peppered with grey stepped out from the cell and clasped hands with Link. "Where in the worlds have you been?" he asked.  
  
Link made a face. "It's a long story. Needless to say, it was also Ganondorf's fault."  
  
"Ol' Pigface?" Kiron asked. He shrugged. "I figured as much. Come on out, guys," he waved a hand to the others who were inside, and a group of men in military uniform came out of the cell. He jerked his head toward John and Kate, who were standing near the back of the room trying to look unobtrusive. "Who's your friends?" he asked.  
  
"John, Kate, this is General Kiron, the commanding officer of Hyrule's armed forces. Kiron, these two are actually responsible for the fact that I'm still breathing," Link said dryly. "They saved my life."  
  
Kate tried to wave it off.  
  
Kiron squinted at Link. "Speaking of which," he said, "where in the name of every hell ever imagined have you been for the past month? Everybody was convinced you were either dead or switched sides."  
  
Link sighed. "Don't tell me," he said wearily, "he brought back that stupid double of mine with him, didn't he?"  
  
Kiron made a wry face. "That he did, my friend. And it's been wreaking havoc all over the countryside, tarnishing your good name and making the lives of the people miserable."  
  
Link shook his head. "I need to have a little talk with that one," he said through clenched teeth.  
  
Kate was shaking her head in disbelief. "So…" she said, "what does all of this mean?"  
  
"If it means what I think it means," John said, cracking a wry grin, "our boy here has an evil twin."  
  
Kate grinned. "I don't think it's as benign as a soap opera plot, Johnny boy," she remarked.  
  
Link just stared at them, his expression blank. Kate grinned. Then, shaking it off, he nodded. "Basically, yeah. It's almost as if it's a…reflection, somehow. I've never understood how it came to be, but…" he shrugged. "There it is." He got grim. "And now it's going to pay. Big. Nobody screws around with Hyrule without answering to me." 


	41. Act 4, Chapter 10

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
10  
  
"Excuse me, sir?"   
  
Link turned when someone tapped his shoulder. His hands flew to the soldiers throat when he saw the face of the man who had addressed him, slamming the unfortunate lieutenant against the wall.  
  
He squeaked as the flow of air through his throat was cut off.  
  
Link glared furiously at him. "You're supposed to be dead," he said, punctuating the last with an extra slam against the wall of the dungeon. "I saw you die! You almost got me killed, you lying traitor!"  
  
Kiron took a hesitant step forward, unsure if he should step in.  
  
Link turned his burning eyes to his old friend. "Do not interfere," he snapped. "this…scum," he spat, "nearly got me killed on death Mountain, and is probably the reason Ganondorf's followers managed to get Zelda out of the palace in the first place. Only thing is," he turned back to the terrified soldier in his iron grip, "I can't figure out what you're doing here. Alive," he added, his tone forecasting disaster for the unfortunate man. His captive tried to squeak out an answer. Link shook his head. "No explanation is good enough for betrayal. Did you plant that note, Joreth?"  
  
One could almost have seen the light bulb going off above the young man's head, and his face lost all traces of his fear. He tried to speak again and then gestured toward Link's hands around his throat.  
  
His face was turning blue.  
  
"Link, he can't very well talk, let alone breathe if you keep squeezing his neck like that," John said quietly.  
  
Link eased his grip on the young soldier's throat just barely, and some of the color began to return to his face. "If you please, m'Lord," he said hesitantly, my name isn't Joreth, sir."  
  
Link stared at him, scowling quizzically, not taking anything on faith. Yet. "It isn't? But-"  
  
"He's my twin brother, sir," he said apologetically. "My name is Akana. Lieutenant, first class."  
  
Link nodded through narrowed eyes. "Do you know your brother's whereabouts?"  
  
Akana shook his head. "He's been missing for about as long as you've been on hiatus, plus a week or so. He hasn't been seen or heard from by either our parents or friends, sir. Do you know where he is?"  
  
Link nodded grimly. "At the bottom of the caverns at Spectacle Rock," he said in a stone-hard voice. "And that's where he's going to stay, the filthy turncoat."  
  
Akana paled. "He didn't…" he murmured.  
  
Link nodded. "I'm starting to believe that he manufactured that 'desperate note' from the princess, too," he added.  
  
"Queen," Kiron corrected.  
  
"What?" Link asked blankly.  
  
"She's Queen, now," Kiron repeated. "Or, at least should be. Ol' Pigface slaughtered the king right in front of her. Made her watch. I was there, too."  
  
Link's scowl deepened into rage. "That monster," he growled. "After all he's put her through…"  
  
Kiron nodded. "So what are you going to do about it?"  
  
Link reached back over his shoulder and drew the mighty broadsword from its sheath. The burnished steel of the Master Sword glowed in the dim torchlight, almost radiating a dreadful eagerness of its own. It wanted to once more taste evil falling beneath its blade. A dreadful, cold smile crossed the face of the Hero of Time. "What do you think?" he asked, running a finger down the length of the blade.  
  
Kiron nodded. "Good," he said. "It's about time somebody put him down. For good." He straightened his armor. "And I'm going with you."  
  
Link shook his head. "What? Oh, no you're not," he argued. "I need you to take your men and make distractions outside the castle to draw all the Gerudo guards away. I can't even think about getting in the main tower with all of them in there."  
  
"'Fraid of a few girls, old friend?" Kiron challenged.  
  
"Not a chance," Link replied, "but I like to have a bit of insurance. You have to take them and storm the castle. Then we sneak in the back."  
  
Kiron shook his head. "Miss all the fun? You're just cruel. Send Akana. The other soldiers like him. He's a good leader."  
  
Akana, however, had choked on Kiron's fateful two words. "Me?" he blurted. "Why me?" He thought about it. "Uh, sir."  
  
"Because you can hack it," he said bluntly. "If we're going to be separating our forces, I want someone in charge who can take the pressure. I saw how you carried things back there in the dungeon and even back in the raid we pulled on the throne room."  
  
Link made a strangled noise. "You did what?" he asked.  
  
Kiron sighed. "I'm afraid so. It didn't go so well, either."  
  
Akana laughed, bringing one hand up to his newly re-located shoulder, still sore from where Taran had been forced to jam it physically back into the socket. "He's not kidding, m'Lord. Your crazy friend here-no offense, sir-"  
  
"None taken," Kiron said placidly.  
  
"Decided that he was going to take Ganondorf out of the running execution style."  
  
The look Link was giving Kiron spoke volumes.  
  
Kiron started trying to explain. "It would have worked," he protested. "Well, maybe. You know he deserves it," he finished lamely.  
  
Link just shook his head. "You know better than to try something like that, Kiron," he said quietly.  
  
Kiron sighed, nodding. "And I've got the broken ribs to prove it."  
  
"How many?"  
  
"Four."  
  
"Ouch. Maybe you should come with me."  
  
Before Kiron could ask why, Link continued. "We need to hightail it to the castle armory so I can get at least some small amount of defensive equipment for these two. And they're going to need a little bit of cover while I'm busy."  
  
Kiron nodded. "Bodyguard."  
  
"Exactly. What's your rank again, General?" Link asked Akana.  
  
"Lieutenant," Akana started to reply, and then stopped, his brain catching up with what Link had called him. "Are you promoting me, sir?" he asked, his eyes wide.  
  
"Does Kiron think you've earned it?" Link asked.  
  
Kiron nodded. "Yes indeed. During the time you've been gone, he's been quite a good second."  
  
Akana grinned stupidly.   
  
Valik poked him in the arm. "Congratulations, kid. I mean, sir kid," he grinned.  
  
"Thanks," Akana replied, a bit dazed.  
  
Link grinned. "Don't let anybody push you around, either." He turned back to Kiron. "Can they do what needs to be done?"  
  
Kiron nodded. "They'll be fine. Let's go find your princess." 


	42. Act 4, Chapter 11

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
11  
  
Kate couldn't help but feel paranoid in the silent, dark halls of the castle. The shadows seemed to reach out at her with long, tentacle-like fingers to pull her into their darkness. She shivered and began walking a little faster, speeding right past John, who reached out and grabbed her hand. She jumped.   
  
John smiled. "Getting a little edgy?" he asked sympathetically.  
  
She nodded, drawing her arms in close. She rubbed her hands together briskly, as if trying to ward off anything unwholesome that might be trying to grab her up in the blackness. "I just can't shake the fear. I hate it, though."  
  
John nodded. "I understand. I've got this tense, uneasy feeling. Like something's going to go wrong, soon, or something."  
  
Kate grinned. "Storyline foreshadowing?" she quipped.   
  
He grinned. "Very well could be," he replied. "Especially since I feel like I'm standing in a fantasy novel."  
  
Kate nodded. "Whatever happens, watch your back, all right? Don't get killed."  
  
John smiled. "Don't worry, Katie. I'll be fine. And so will you. What's the worst that could happen?"  
  
Kate opened her mouth to warn him about the famous last words he'd just uttered.  
  
"Stop right there," Link said, coming to an abrupt halt. He turned to John. "Haven't you figured out what it is you've gotten into yet?"  
  
John just stared at him.  
  
Kate laid a hand on his shoulder. "He's right, Johnny."  
  
John nodded. "I'm sorry, I suppose I…I wasn't looking at things the way they are. I'm still too new at this to look at things in a realistic perspective."  
  
Kiron laughed, but it was a sound without humor. "You better start, son," he said quietly. "Because you won't survive real long with that outlook."  
  
John scowled. "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm not from around here," he said irritably. "I've been thrown into another dimension, without any of my belongings, nothing familiar, and only one other person around that I even know. So forgive me if I haven't quite gotten into the swing of saving the world."  
  
Kate stepped in between John and Link. "All right, you two, cool it."  
  
John stepped back, still smoldering a bit, but he quickly brushed it aside. "All right, I'm sorry. Let's go."  
  
Kate smiled approvingly, once more linking her arm with John's. She walked with him as the small group made its way toward the castle armory. "This is war, Johnny," she said quietly. "People get killed in wars."  
  
He nodded. "I know," he said. "But I'm not letting anything happen to you."  
  
She smiled. "Same here. Promise me that whatever happens, we'll watch out for each other?"  
  
"I've got your back if you've got mine," he agreed.  
  
Kiron moved silently toward a pair of large doors and opened one of them so slowly that it made not a single sound. Peering carefully around the door, he motioned for the trio to move quickly through.  
  
Kate walked through the open door, and her jaw dropped so low she nearly tripped over it. Hanging on the dimly lit walls was an enormous assortment of more styles and types of medieval weapons than the human mind of the twenty-first century could conceive, from armaments ranging between the typical Hylian broadsword to the wickedly spiked chain mace, several different length choices of bow and hundreds of quivers of arrows, and even several varieties of crossbow. Quarterstaffs, spears, and javelins lined the walls, with shining, gracefully forged swords and shields at their base. Kate could hardly believe her eyes. The immense room was filled with all one would ever need to equip an entire army.  
  
Kiron saw her face and grinned. "And this is just the spare stuff," he said smugly.  
  
She turned to reply, and suddenly remembered to inhale. "Wow," she said.  
  
"Well, Katie, they didn't bring us in here for nothing," John said. "Pick a weapon."  
  
"Please do," Kiron added. 


	43. Act 4, Chapter 12

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
12  
  
After much trepidation, Zelda had finally decided to don once more the disguise of the Sheikah warrior and bard that had helped her elude the clutches of the evil Ganondorf so long ago. With the Triforce of Wisdom at her command, she quickly made the shapechange into Sheik, one of few survivors of the Shadow People.  
  
Kitara turned around. "If we try to make our escape now, the way should be clear-" she stopped. "Princess?" she blinked.  
  
"I thought I told you not to call me that," Sheik replied in a frustrated tone.  
  
The tenor-range voice carried well in the small room.  
  
Kitara blinked. "Zelda, is that really you?" She couldn't quite believe it.  
  
Sheik nodded. "It's just an old disguise, girl," he growled. The crimson eyes took on a crafty gleam. "You want out of here?"  
  
"What are you doing, girl?" an irritable, yet familiar voice spoke out of the air.  
  
"Impa?" Sheik blurted. "We have to get out of here, before something else happens."  
  
"No, Zelda, you must not," Impa protested. "Anything you attempt will fail, and do so quite horribly."  
  
Sheik pulled his mask from his face, folded his arms across his chest, and scowled. "So nice to have your resounding vote of confidence," he said pointedly.  
  
There was an audible sigh, and Kitara stifled a laugh. "You know better than that, Zelda," Impa said tiredly. "Just do as I say."  
  
"Why? Why will I fail?"  
  
"Simply put, I'm not supposed to tell you. Rauru is standing behind me giving the back of my head dirty looks to discourage me from saying anything, but I have a feeling that it's going to end badly if you do," Impa warned. There was a pause. "That's the most I can say. If you keep up these attempts, then you're throwing things out of the hand of prophecy and into the realm of random chance. And that isn't something even the Goddesses like to take chances with. So take off the disguise, Zelda. You're not going anywhere until Link comes for you."  
  
Sheik scowled. After a moment's irritated silence, there was a vivid flash, and Zelda once more stood where Sheik had, arms still folded, scowling irritably at the floor.  
  
Kitara took a hesitant step forward. "Maybe it's for the best?" she said, almost sounding more like she was asking.  
  
Zelda didn't reply right away. She simply continued to glare balefully at the unoffending floor.  
  
There was a definite, sudden change in the air as the presence of the Sheikah Sage of Shadow departed. Then, and only then, did Zelda look up. She sighed, and then, uttered one single word that summed up her feelings about the situation more succinctly and perfectly than either of them could have known: "Phooey." 


	44. Act 4, Chapter 13

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
13  
  
Fifteen minutes after they had entered the palace armory, Kate and John were armed with several various implements of pointed warfare. Kate had a quiver of arrows and a plain Hylian shield strapped to her back, a rapier around her waist, and a longbow in her right hand.  
  
John had taken a more typical route, shield on his back and broadsword strapped over one shoulder.  
  
"Do you ever get used to this?" Kate asked, trying to move both the quiver and shield around to a more comfortable position.  
  
Link shrugged. "Kind of," he replied. "It takes a while, though. You ready?"  
  
Kate and John both nodded.  
  
"Then we should go," Kiron said. "Best to keep moving. We've got a lot of castle to search for the Queen."  
  
"No," Link said suddenly.  
  
What?"  
  
"We can't go to her first. We have to make sure it's safe before we bring her out into the open. The last time she came out into the open so quick it almost got both of us killed."  
  
Kiron said nothing for a quiet moment, and finally nodded. "All right. We go for Ganondorf?"  
  
Link nodded. "Straight to him," he affirmed.  
  
"Why does that worry me?" John murmured, leaning over to Kate.  
  
Kate gave him a wry glance. "I don't know," she said quietly, with a wry note in her voice. 


	45. Act 4, Chapter 14

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
14  
  
The tower dungeon was eerily silent. Zelda hadn't spoken for what felt like hours, though Kitara couldn't possibly be sure how much time had passed since Impa's warning. There were no windows in the frightfully dark tower, and Kitara had never been particularly fond of the dark to begin with, so it wasn't helping that the cell's other occupant was being so sullenly silent. "So…do you think he'll really come for us?"  
  
Zelda laughed. The tone was bitter. "He always has before," she said quietly. "I was kind of hoping to save him a little trouble this time," she said, pouting slightly. "I had kind of wanted to meet him halfway, you know, so he didn't have to do everything. I'm kind of getting a bit tired of being the helpless maiden who always needs to be rescued. In a way, I kind of envy you Gerudo," she admitted.  
  
"Envy us? The recluses of the harsh desert?" Now it was Kitara's turn to be bitter. "you mean we women who always glare from our fortresses down at the rest of mankind? Who always chase off intruders at the point of a glaive? No, it's no life to envy."  
  
"You don't sound as if you agree with the practices of your people," Zelda observed.  
  
Kitara snorted disdainfully. "My people are nothing but frightened old women who refuse to admit that not all men are the same as our…" she sneered, "esteemed leader," she said disdainfully. "And no one like me," she continued, "who sees every person as an equal to another, is accepted in the Gerudo culture. I've been an outcast even among my own clan since I was small because of my opinions."  
  
Zelda was aghast. "That's terrible," she said quietly. "How many of you are there who think that the Gerudo's old ways are holding them back?"  
  
Kitara smiled ruefully. "Not many."  
  
Zelda placed a hand on the young warrior's shoulder. "If we get out of this," she said, "you and those who share your views are welcome to stay in Hyrule for as long as you'd like. You'll always have a place as long as I'm in charge around here. You're not to be an outcast any longer," she said firmly. 


	46. Act 4, Chapter 15

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
15  
  
The trek to Ganondorf's tower seemed to be taking forever. Kate looked around at the shadows, convinced that they were going to leap out at her any moment and drag her screaming down into the darkness with them laughing in her ears the whole way.  
  
Link, for his part, was surprised that they hadn't been attacked by one of Ganondorf's unsavory creations yet. But even so, his eyes were peeled. His strides were those of a man on a dreadful mission, and there was a bleak sense of purpose about him, even as his catlike movements remained subtle and swift, eyes darting around to every shadow and nook in the long, cathedral-like hall.  
  
And then he stopped. There was a change in the air that Kate could almost feel, a sudden darkness even beyond that of the dimly lit hall pressing down on her shoulders like a physical weight. "Link," she whispered.  
  
"Quiet," he said abruptly, waving her off as kindly as possible in the circumstance.  
  
In response, knowing that danger was most likely very close by, Kate reached up to the quiver on her back and drew one arrow free, steeling herself for whatever might happen.  
  
Instead of the sudden onslaught she had expected, though, there was a dry, mirthless laugh, a sound that made the already chilly hallway's temperature drop by about ten degrees. It was an evil, black sound, and Kate knew then and there that she wanted no part of it.   
  
She readied her bow.  
  
Link scowled bleakly. "Get out here where I can see you," he demanded. It was obvious he knew who he was talking to.  
  
"I see you haven't forgotten me, have you, brother?" a malevolent voice asked from the darkness of a nearby shadowed pillar.  
  
"How could I? You've been going around this country for the past month doing everything you can to make me look like a common reprobate. Now get out here so I can run you through before I take your head off."  
  
"Now, is that any way to talk to your own shadow?" the voice asked acidly. "I am you. I'm more you than you can ever hope to be. Everything that I am…exists because part of you was taken to create me."  
  
Link scowled. "I still have to thank Pigface for that, too," he growled.  
  
"Oh, you won't be getting anywhere near Lord Ganondorf, Hero," the voice spat the word out like poison.   
  
There was a movement in the shadow, and a figure dressed in a black tunic and hose just like Link's-with the exception of a hood that covered his face and two crimson eyes that burned like flame the only distinguished feature underneath the cowl-stepped forward, carrying a sword of black iron. The figure took another step forward. "Is this the little band you brought to challenge the King of Evil?" There was a snort of disdain from underneath the black cowl. "Pity. I was hoping for a rather larger bloodbath." He gave the iron sword a few experimental swings. "If you're so determined to die here, then please, by all means, try and attack me. You know we're too evenly matched for you to defeat me."  
  
Link's scowl deepened, dark and dangerous. "That remains to be seen," he said coolly, and then leapt into battle.  
  
The skirmish was not nearly the nice, ethic-bound duel that Kate had thought she would see in a place like Hyrule, but more a grim, gruesome argument, swords whistling in the air as the two sides of one coin hacked and slashed at each other's bodies. Blood soon made a slick on the floor, the two warriors slipping and sliding on the grotesque slick as they endeavored to end each others' lives. Link clearly had the upper hand, the Triforce of Courage lending him its strength, and soon the demon reflection retreated to the shadows with a laugh and a whispered challenge. "I'll be back…you can't kill me…without killing yourself…as long as you exist, there I'll be…just waiting."  
  
It wasn't a threat; it was a promise.  
  
Link gritted his teeth, bleeding from many a wound. Kiron whistled. "You got anything to fix that, boy?" he asked, voice hushed.  
  
The adopted Kokiri nodded, and pulled the Ocarina of Time from a concealed pocket, and played a few short notes of Saria's Song, the tune she'd taught him so long ago when he had first left the forest. It was a direct line to her.  
  
"…Who is this?" Saria asked. "Who's calling me?"  
  
"Saria, it's me," Link said, leaning heavily on his sword. "Can you send Nera with a couple of her Healer cousins? I'm in bad shape."  
  
"Of course," she said, though her voice registered surprise at a presence she had most likely never expected to hear from again. "How many?"  
  
"Four. I'd like a few of them to accompany us, my friends and I have a ways to go yet."  
  
"She'll be there soon, Link. And Link?"  
  
"Yes, Saria?"  
  
"Welcome home."  
  
A smile spread over the wounded man's face. He looked into the air and tossed off a wave. "It's good to be back," he said, "I think."  
  
There was a laugh as farewell and then the connection closed. Several long, silent minutes passed, the only sounds that of Kate's own heart pounding nervously in her ears, and the occasional drip of blood onto the floor from one of the many wounds the Hero of Time had received. By the time Nera came, he was seated on the floor, head in his hands to block out the dizzying whirl of the corridor around him. "Link!" chirped a tiny voice, a globe of winged green light phasing right through the palace wall, followed by four similar orbs of fluttering, pastel pink. "We're here!"  
  
The little tiny Healers went to work, sealing the wounds and repairing damage already done. Soon Link was revitalized; good as new. He stood, sheathing his sword and wishing he wasn't smeared head to toe in blood both his own and his shade's, but passed it off quickly as a hazard of his involuntary career. "Thank you for coming so quickly, Nera," he said gratefully. "I would have been a goner if you hadn't come with them."  
  
The tiny faerie waved it off. "Nonsense. How could I not help a friend of Navi's?" She smiled. "Speaking of which, she says hi…and that she would have come, but it was only recently that we got her out of the little bottle that someone corked her in about a month ago, and the Deku Tree told her to stay in the forest for some reason."  
  
Link nodded, frowning. Yet another piece of the trap that had worked so well against him fell into place. "Ah. Send her my best," he replied, smiling. The orb of green bobbed in reply.   
  
"I'll tell Saria you sent a hug," Nera offered.  
  
"Thanks," he said, and waved as she flittered out the way she'd came. The Healers all flitted around him for a moment, concealing themselves inside his pack and clothing for protection. They knew they would be needed later. And with a look to his companions that clearly stated his intention to press forward, he turned silently to the staircase before them and stepped upward, headed toward a confrontation that would make or break the entire world. 


	47. Act 4, Chapter 16

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
16  
  
"I want you three to stay out of the way in here," Link warned. "This is going to get ugly and I don't want you hurt. Kiron, watch out for them."  
  
The general that had watched Link's back for so many years and been his friend for so many more nodded. "They'll be safe, boy. Don't you worry. Just keep your own arse out of the fire."  
  
Link grimaced. "I'll do my best. Are we all ready?"  
  
"As we'll ever be," John replied grimly.   
  
"Link, be careful," Kate pled quietly. There was fear in her green eyes. Something inside her was dark, as though she could see the future forming, and it wasn't pleasant.  
  
"I will, Kate, I promise." And he turned, placing one hand against the large double door that swung open on noiseless iron hinges.  
  
Inside the room was pitch black. The only light cast on the place was a dim reddish glow from the angry skies above, reflecting off the fiery, agitated halo cloud above Death Mountain. It was said that when the clouds were as fire, then the land was in peril. If the halo of clouds was calm, so was the land.  
  
The eerie pall cast into the room with the huge stained glass windows was anything but calm. Link stepped through, his skin taking on a pallid, bloody cast that made him look as though he were walking dead. Across the huge room stood an imposing figure in ornate leather and a swirling, black cape with blood red lining. "You took too long, boy," a low growl of a voice said. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd lost your edge."  
  
Link stepped into the center of the room, the Master Sword slipping from its sheath with a challenge of hissing steel. The blade sang when Link flicked it with one finger. His blue, stony eyes remained trained on his adversary's back, the humming sword's ring echoing and fading slowly away.  
  
It was enough. The dark-skinned figure with the fiery hair turned, revealing angular, golden eyes set deep in a chiseled, harsh face that seemed crafted perfectly to evil. One hand reached beneath the cloak, withdrawing an unsheathed blade that seemed to radiate darkness in the same way that the Master Sword bore its own light. It twisted the air around it until it was as malformed and warped as the iron blade itself. It was pure evil.  
  
Kate swallowed from the shadowed corner where she, John, and Kiron hid in the shadows of one of the room's badly lit corners, seeming to know somehow that this could not, would not end well.  
  
The demon that could only have been Ganondorf raised the blade and charged the youth. Link met the blow with his own blade, sparks flying as cold iron met fiery steel, the echo of the ringing blades causing ears to ring in return.  
  
The duel that ensued was bloody and gruesome, much as Link's duel with his own darker half had been; only Ganondorf was far more ruthless. He fought with no honor, no code, no ethics. He struck where he could and when he could, sending the Hylian youth to his knees or to the ground many a time. Link found himself tiring more quickly than he thought he would, and retreated on several occasions so that the Healers that had accompanied him could work their magic and make him whole again. But one could only lose so much energy before one really started to show it.  
  
"You brought your little friends along to see the show, did you?" Ganondorf sneered, one booted foot coming up to strike Link solidly in the chest.  
  
"What can I say," he rasped, wheezing as the wind was knocked from his lungs, "I wanted an audience for when I slit your throat." And he lunged at the King of Evil, Master Sword swinging in an arc that, had it connected, would have cleaved Ganondorf in two at the waist.  
  
The Gerudo thief, however, was not so easily caught. He brought the iron blade down, both blocking Link's thrust and creating his own strike all at once. Link caught a vicious blow to the shoulder and swore, backing up a few steps as Ganondorf advanced again. "You shouldn't have done it," he said, glancing off into the shadows to where the trio stood concealed.  
  
And even as Kate heard the evil man speak, she knew. It was over…  
  
Link's eyes widened when he saw the ball of darkened energy headed straight for that corner. "RUN!" he roared, even as he dropped the Master Sword and turned, running like hell to try and get them out of the way in time.  
  
Kate, John, and Kiron stood in openmouthed, wide-eyed shock as the Hylian youth took the ball of darkness in both hands and forced it off to the side. He hit the ground and rolled to a stop, pushing himself up onto elbows and knees as Ganondorf laughed coldly. Link's hands were badly burned, and the skin was already starting to crack and peel, blisters forming from the malevolent blast. He swore softly, wincing. Even moving his fingers was sheer agony. Kate frowned. There was no way he could hold a sword. "Come here," she ordered. He raised a brow at her but did as he was instructed, and watched in fascination as she ripped off slices of fabric from the bottom of her own shirt and John's, using them to bandage his hands as best she could after applying some salve she'd managed to save when they'd left their bags behind. "That should help the pain long enough for you to finish this," she said quietly. "Now get back in there and take the bastard's head off."  
  
Link smiled, wrapped his arms around her, and gave her a grateful hug. "No matter what happens, I owe you two everything. Thank you." And he shook John's hand, then giving Kiron a proud salute.  
  
The Legendary Hero dove back into the fight, narrowly missing being cut in twain by the huge iron blade, and rolled to his feet, Master Sword in hand once more. "Nice move," Ganondorf said mockingly, "but you can't protect them and keep yourself alive. Today is your day, and I'm going to send you screaming back to those Goddesses you love so much!"  
  
Link stepped to the side to avoid a huge blow, but at the same time a blast of dark energy hit the ground where his foot landed, knocking him off balance and sending him sprawling. His forehead hit the stone floor hard when he rolled to a stop, and he lay dazed and disoriented, the Master Sword having clattered far out of hand's reach. Even as he lunged for it, one of Ganondorf's booted feet caught him in the stomach and sent him sprawling on his stomach once more, coughing and fighting for air. He was sure that something had been broken with that kick, he mused even as consciousness began to flee.  
  
"Link, get up, GET UP!" Kate screeched desperately. John had to hold her back to keep her from running to his side to defend him. The Hylian stirred briefly, but lacked the strength to get to his feet after the beating he'd sustained. He simply had no energy left. And the Healers were no use in such close proximity to Ganondorf. He would have obliterated them had they shown themselves.  
  
The Gerudo King stood triumphantly over his nemesis, iron blade held at the ready. "You know," he said coldly, "I don't suppose you'd think I'd be the type to stab a man in the back." After repeating Link's words to him on Death Mountain that month before, the King of Evil laughed harshly. "Oh, who am I kidding?!" he asked, still roaring with laughter, "I'm exactly the kind of man to stab someone in the back!"  
  
He reversed the blade, and brought it down straight through the heart of the Hero of Time. It went through the boy as though he were butter and cleaved the stone beneath him, sending a spider's web of cracks out beneath the frail body.  
  
Link didn't even have time to scream before the darkness swallowed him up, his eyes going glassy and lifeless as soul and spirit fled.  
  
"No! Oh, no, Link, no, no, NO!" a tiny voice cried, and a little winged ball of glowing, blue-white light flittered right through the wall and zoomed down, clinging to him while tiny hands tried to shake him as though the boy were sleeping. The struggle soon ceased, and the faerie gave up, instead flittering down by his face to place a tiny pixie kiss of farewell to the tip of the Hero's nose, and then she reached up and gently closed his eyes before collapsing against him to sob.  
  
"NO!" Kate and John and Kiron screeched together. Once more, John was forced to hold his lady back from her own destruction. She struggled uselessly against his grip and then collapsed to sob brokenly against his chest. The only hope for an adopted world she was growing to love…was gone.  
  
The Hero of Time was dead.  
  
~~~~~  
  
A/N: BUAHAHAHAHA. Bet you didn't see that coming. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed this fic for me so far, the encouragement has been awesome! I'm really glad people are enjoying this! ^.^3 And don't worry, it doesn't end here, but I've been really busy lately, and you're all going to have to live with the cliffhanger for a few days until I can get some other business wrapped up with my other websites and art/fiction accounts. So please bear with me, and I promise I'll have the conclusion of Act IV up as soon as possible. And then we're on the home stretch; Act V is the last one, I promise. And we'll all have something to celebrate at the after-party for cast and crew. *Grins* Thanks again, everyone, I appreciate it! Look forward to more soon!!! 


	48. Act 4, Chapter 17

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
17  
  
Long minutes passed and the only sounds in the room were the broken weeping of one human woman and the maniacal, crazed laughter of a tyrant who had just triumphed over his life's greatest enemy. He'd forgotten about the remaining trio of rebels hiding in the corner, Kate's broken sobs somehow starting to die out. She lacked the strength to shed anymore tears. Her eyes opened onto Link's motionless form and she turned away, the tears starting fresh, though she wasn't weeping audibly anymore. She looked up at John, who only could return a sorrowful gaze to her questioning one. The little faerie had since given up her tears and now sat numbly on Kiron's shoulder, her head resting against his neck.  
  
God…I don't know if you can hear me, Kate said, turning to the one place she thought she had left. This boy shouldn't die like this. He's done so much for so many. He deserves better than to die at the hands of this monster. If there's any way we can keep ourselves alive so that we may find him help from his friends…please let us do it. I've never asked you for much, but this…I need help. I need strength. I need his courage. Just for a little while.  
  
She straightened in John's arms, getting to her feet, and took a purposeful step toward where the Master Sword lay on the ground not far from them. John grabbed her wrist. "Katie, what are you doing?"  
  
"Finishing this," she said grimly. "I won't let him die in vain, John."  
  
He scowled. "Who said you have to?"  
  
"He saved our lives…that thing the bastard threw at me would have taken my head off. I'm going to do this." She bent down and retrieved the Master Sword.  
  
Without a single word, she hauled back and threw it like a javelin through the air. The sacred blade whistled across the room in a swift, deadly arc, and stuck itself in Ganondorf's back.  
  
He howled in pain, dropping to his knees when the blade sank in nearly to the hilt. It was over soon after. The last thing Ganondorf did was look Kate in the eyes and glare menacingly at her before whispering, "You can't end me…only one has the power…this is. Not. Over."  
  
Kate sneered at him as his head hit the ground and walked over, delivering the corpse a savage blow with one foot. She reached down and yanked the Master Sword out.  
  
The castle started to shake as a surge of power echoed from the point where Kate had pulled the sword free, the walls threatening to tumble then and there.  
  
Two figures came dashing through a concealed entrance. One was the same race as the Gerudo King, the other a fair-skinned blonde girl with piercing blue eyes. She looked down upon the still form of the Hero of Time, and agony flickered briefly over her eyes before she managed to cover it.   
  
"Princess!" the faerie cried, taking to the air.  
  
The blonde girl cupped the faerie close, nuzzling the pixie against her own cheek in brief comfort. "We must flee this place," she said, "before it buries us all."  
  
John looked down at Link's unmoving body. "I'm not leaving him here. Kiron…you can guard the women, right?" he asked, lifting Link as carefully as possible onto his own shoulders.  
  
The general nodded, gazing sadly at his old friend. "Aye…they'll come to no harm. We must move, quickly!"  
  
Together, the party of five that should have been six ran as though hell were on their heels to get out of that castle. As it was, they were barely able to escape before the entire palace crashed down in a brittle, charred ruin. John set Link's body carefully down once they were outside, causing Kate's tears to begin all over again. Heedless of the blood that soaked them both when he did so, he put his arms around her and began rocking her gently.  
  
As the pillars and stones and towers came crashing down, wind and debris swirled around them. The small group of five stood on the plain just outside the castle and watched it fall.  
  
Silence descended. 


	49. Act 4, Chapter 18

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
18  
  
Zelda was weeping.  
  
Collapsed against the still form of her guardian, the princess sobbed; deep cries that bespoke whole volumes of sorrow.  
  
Zelda was weeping.   
  
She cried for what had been, and now, what never would be again.  
  
Zelda was weeping.  
  
She mourned for Hyrule's bravest, and she mourned for a kingdom that would rebuild itself without a Hero of Time to stand such vigilant watch of Hyrule's loving, generous people, who may very well live in fear of what might happen without their Hero to protect them should a crisis ever arise. She wept in fear of what would happen when none was found worthy to take up the Master Sword in defense of Hyrule to stand and fight.  
  
Zelda was weeping.  
  
She mourned for all of this, and more. For while she knew that Fate, and the Goddesses, would choose another, there would never be anyone again…quite like him.  
  
Zelda wept; and her people and fellow Sages wept with her. Indeed, all of creation cried out with Princess Zelda against the injustice that had taken the life of one so devoted to light and peace.  
  
Zelda was weeping, and while she wept, the universe stood still, poised in a moment of all-consuming cessation for the selfless Hero that had died in the night.  
  
Kate looked on, numb with anger and sorrow. She watched the sad scene, taking in every last detail. The Master Sword rested on the ground beside the fallen Hero, still gleaming in the dim light, though said glow was muted; as if in respect of the sacrifice given. The heartbroken princess wept on Link's chest; tiny, ethereal Navi, the faerie of whom Link had spoken, Kate was sure, was slumped against Link's shoulder, shedding tiny faerie tears for her lost companion.  
  
Finally, Kate felt her own eyes beginning to burn as hot tears rolled down her face and she, too, started to weep. John wordlessly held her close as she shook from the silent cries. "It's not right," she murmured, voice cracking. "We saved his life just for this? It's not right…"  
  
Zelda sniffed and dried her eyes, pulling herself up. She gazed with infinite sadness down upon the lifeless face of the Hero of Time. With one small, shaking hand, she reached down to brush his sandy hair from his face. Then, her eyes filled with tears once more as she traced the lines and contours of his face, as if committing it to memory. "Never in life," she said, voice carrying a small quaver, "was my guardian this much at peace." She laughed once, short and bitter.  
  
The silence was consuming. There wasn't much anyone could say to that.  
  
"Kiron," the dark-skinned redhead turned to the grizzled general. "What do we do now?"  
  
He looked up at her from where he knelt on the cold ground, his face sad, eyes haunted and hopeless. His shoulders were slumped in defeat. "What can we do?" he countered, voice quiet; hushed. His eyes flickered back down to Link's body, then back up, the pain evident. "It's over."  
  
"It can't be," she said stubbornly. "There's got to be something we can do!"  
  
"Like what?" Kiron asked calmly.  
  
The Gerudo's mouth formed a reply, but the golden eyes filled with pain, and she sighed, head hanging.  
  
John swore. "This is so damn stupid," he said furiously. "That bastard never should've gotten away with it…"  
  
A pillar shifted and fell in the ruin, and every pair of eyes snapped up to watch for further clamor.  
  
When there was none, John's eyes narrowed. "Katie, hand me that sword. Kiron, can we borrow yours?"  
  
The general nodded and handed over his blade.  
  
John took it and offered Kate one. "Let's go check things out." He turned back to Kiron. "Watch over them?"  
  
The general nodded. "Aye. I'll keep my eyes open. Be careful."  
  
John nodded and turned back to Kate, who had taken the Master Sword from him, and the pair of them stepped into the ruin's impact circle. They picked their way through the rubble, scanning for signs of movement.  
  
The ground began to rumble and shake beneath their feet, and out of nowhere, the rubble exploded outward as a figure shot up into the air. John acted on reflex and threw Kate to the ground to shield her from the flying granite with his own body.  
  
In horror, they stared up at the figure that emerged from the pile of broken rock.  
  
It was Ganondorf.  
  
And he wasn't happy.  
  
Kate pushed her partner off her as gently as she could and they both scramble to their feet, swords ready.  
  
Though he was fighting for each breath he took, Ganondorf looked at them and started to laugh. "Fools!" he thundered. "Don't you know that the Hero of Time was the only mortal who could truly control the Master Sword? He was the last pitiful chance you had to defeat me! Don't you get it? I have won!"  
  
He thrust his arms into the air and a cold glow surrounded him. "And now," he shouted, "I'll destroy you one pathetic little scum at a time…I look forward to crushing your bones to powder!"  
  
The light moved around him, warping and shifting and molding him into a new form. Something demonic slammed a cloven hoof down on the ground, followed by a second as it came to rest. In each malformed, enormous hand was an equally malformed, enormous blade of iron, and golden eyes glowed malevolently down at the two transplanted Californians.  
  
Kate gaped. And in two short-spoken, succinct, potent words, summed up the situation: "Ah, hell." 


	50. Act 4, Chapter 19

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
19  
  
As a circle of sooty orange flame rose up around John, Kate, and Ganon, Kitara turned frantically to Kiron, who merely watched sadly as the Californians' escape was brutally, effectively cut off. "We have to help them!" Kitara cried.  
  
"How?" Kiron asked hopelessly, the flames reflecting in his tired, empty eyes.  
  
"Isn't there some way we can get through?" she persisted.  
  
"Not unless you want to get fried," he retorted grimly. "Face it, Kitara. As much as it galls me to admit it, it's over." He stared up at the demonic monster as it chased the terrified pair around the all-too-small battleground. "He's won."  
  
"Maybe not," the princess spoke.  
  
Three heads - two Hylian, one fae - whipped around to stare at their monarch. Zelda had a strangely exultant look on her face, blue eyes burning with a new, wild hope. "Highness?" Kiron asked quizzically.  
  
"Watch out for them," she directed. "I may have an idea." She closed her eyes.  
  
"As you wish, Highness."  
  
"What do we do now?" Kitara demanded urgently.  
  
Kiron turned to regard her, his face now calm. "We wait."  
  
-Chamber of the Sages-  
  
"The Hero of Time has a small problem," Rauru, said calmly. The Sage of Light's eyes were closed as if he were viewing events on another plane of existence.  
  
Which he was.  
  
"Small problem?" Darunia rumbled. The Sage of Fire shook his head, a wry twist to his lips. "The boy's dead, Rauru!" The Sage's voice was quite unique; though it rumbled and seemed to shake the ground, it was never deafening, never loud or raucous. There were many who wondered how he did it.  
  
"Oh, Link, no!" Saria cried. The Kokiri Sage of Forest's hands flew to her mouth, eyes wide in horror. A single tear rolled down her face.  
  
"The Princess of Destiny seeks our aid," Impa noted. The Sage of Shadow seemed undisturbed about the entire affair.  
  
Saria turned to the Sage of Light, eyes pleading. "Please, Rauru, intervene!" she begged desperately. "You can't let him die! He's too good to die like this! Please, Rauru, I beg you, save him!"  
  
Rauru smiled kindly at the now-weeping Sage, and at Ruto and Nabooru, Sages of Water and Spirit, who had echoed Saria's vervent plea. "Of course the Sages will intervene," he murmured softly. "The Hero of Time is simply too important for the fate of Hyrule to let him go."  
  
"But…he's dead," Darunia rumbled, confused. "What can we do?"  
  
"Death is not an actual end. It's misplaced energy that has changed forms; for energy can never truly be destroyed." He turned his gentle gaze to Saria. "Are you prepared, girl?" he asked.  
  
"Me? Why me?" she blurted.  
  
Rauru smiled gently at her again. "Who better," he stated, "to save the life of one raised by the Kokiri, than the one who knows him best? Who better to delve into the workings of his innermost mind?"  
  
Saria's cheeks tinged red. "I didn't think of that," she replied sheepishly.  
  
Rauru laughed softly. "I thought you hadn't." He turned to the Sheikah woman. "Impa, go with her. And pay our respects to the Princess while you're there."  
  
The Sage of Shadow bowed. "I will indeed," she promised.  
  
Together, the two Sages flickered and vanished from the Chamber.  
  
"Rauru?" Darunia asked after several long, silent moments.  
  
"All will be well," replied the Sage of Light.  
  
-Hyrule Castle Ruin-  
  
"Katie!" John roared. "Look OUT!"  
  
Ganon's huge tail swung out, catching Kate in the middle of her back and swinging her forward, slamming her into a granite pillar. She hit it so hard that the stone cracked with the impact. Kate slid to the ground and didn't move. John snarled out a curse and ran up to the demon, darting in between his huge legs to dash around and kick him solidly in the tail. The demon howled in pain, and while he was thus occupied, John swept the insensate woman up into his arms and made a dash for cover on the opposite side of the fire-encircled ring. Kate moaned and put one hand to her now-throbbing head before darkness claimed her and she passed out.  
  
"I don't know what you guys are doing out there," he said, any thoughts of even finding the Master Sword now gone in the face of such hopeless odds, "but I hope you hurry it the hell up." 


	51. Act 4, Chapter 20

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
20  
  
Kitara paced anxiously, golden eyes flittering uneasily over toward the ring of flame occasionally, and wincing at the fight for survival inside.  
  
Zelda sat calmly on the ground, eyes closed. A faint glow of palest blue surrounded her form, and it was clear she was in communion with the Sages who she represented. Finally, her clear eyes opened, and any traces of sadness had disappeared, replaced by calm, serene hope. "They're on their way," she reported to Kiron.  
  
And then she collapsed. The general caught her and lowered his monarch gently to the ground, unable to help muttering, "A 'who' would have been nice."  
  
Two orbs of glowing light; one deep green, one dark violet, floated down out of the sky and flickered into the shapes of Saria, Kokiri Sage of Forest, and Impa, Sheikah Sage of Shadow. The small girl ran over, her blue eyes clouding over with burning tears at the site of her best friend for so many years lying motionless on the ground. Impa moved to the Princess' side and laid one hand on her forehead. When she removed it, Zelda's eyes opened and she sat up, shaking her head. "You can help?" she asked of her former guardian.  
  
Impa nodded. "Saria will repair the wound and call his soul back."  
  
"She can do that?" chirped a tiny voice. Navi was sitting on Link's motionless shoulder and casting first Impa, and then Saria, a dubious glance.  
  
Saria laughed through her tears, and gathered Navi into her hands, pulling the faerie close. "Do you really doubt me, Navi?"  
  
"Well…no…of course not, Saria! It's just…kind of unbelievable," was the fae's explanation.  
  
Saria couldn't help but laugh nervously. "To both of us. Rauru said he was sending me and I nearly had a heart attack." She turned to Impa. "What do I do?"  
  
Impa shrugged. "I've had about as much experience at this as you have, girl," she answered gruffly. "But make sure you get him back."  
  
It was less than reassuring. Saria sighed nervously and put one hand on Link's chest just over the wound. Come back to us, Link…we need you…we all do…  
  
And silence descended once more. 


	52. Act 4, Chapter 21

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
21  
  
Darkness. Saria blinked three times before realizing that it was just so dark she couldn't see anything.  
  
Link…I know you can hear me…I can feel you.  
  
…Saria? Is that you? Came the faint reply.  
  
The Kokiri girl nearly sobbed with relief. Yes, Link! It's me! Where are you?  
  
I was about to ask you the same thing, he said. His voice was so weak, so far away. It's dark in here.  
  
The girl made a face. Don't I know it. Reach toward me…follow my voice, I'll keep talking, you have to come back. Your friends are in danger and you're the only one who can help…Rauru sent me to take you back, Link.  
  
But I'm so tired…I don't have any strength left…I want to go back…I want to help…but I don't think I can, Saria… He did indeed sound tired, physically and emotionally and spiritually exhausted.  
  
I'll give you the strength you need, Link, I promise. Trust me?  
  
I…  
  
And Impa's here, and the Sages can all lend a hand…Rauru has promised me that we'll all be there to help you. And this time there will be no seal, no Evil Realm, no banishment…we're going to help you destroy that monster once and for all, Link…but you have to come back first so we can use the Master Sword to take him down. No one else can do it! …Zelda cried so hard for you…she needs you, Link…more than even she knows.  
  
She does…?  
  
Yes, Link, she does. And I know how you feel about her, too…as the Seventh Sage, she'll be offering you even more strength than any of us. Love is funny like that, the Kokiri girl quipped.  
  
All right, he muttered irritably, sounding more like himself, that's enough of that chatter. Give me your hand, Saria, I'm coming back.  
  
She nearly laughed in relief, and took his ethereal hand, practically running back toward the light that beckoned them both. The next thing the Sage of Forest felt was a gentle upward pull, and then the light enfolded them. 


	53. Act 4, Chapter 22

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
22  
  
Saria's eyes opened, and she once more found herself on the broken plain. "He'll be back in a moment," she said. When she moved her hand away, the wound was gone. As was any trace or hint that he'd ever been wounded at all.  
  
The small band watched breathlessly, eyes glued on the motionless figure. When his chest rose once in a sharp breath, the collective relief in the air was almost a tangible thing. Link opened his eyes and slowly pushed himself up onto his elbows, one arm coming up to rub at his forehead. "Coming back from the dead leaves one helluva headache," he growled.  
  
Kiron and Kitara started laughing.  
  
Link pushed himself all the way up, getting to his feet rather stiffly before he looked over at Saria and Impa. To Impa he cast a short, respectful bow, and to Saria…  
  
He got down on his knees to give her a huge bear hug. "Thanks a lot, kid," he whispered in her ear. He stood, turning, and his clear blue eyes came to rest on Zelda's face, a soft smile gracing his own.  
  
The joy she felt at his return was quickly squelched by the sudden memory of what he'd said to her on Death Mountain what seemed like an eternity ago. "Boy," she said, and though it was the name she'd called him since their youth, it was laced with cold, professional distance. "Welcome back," she said in that same frosty tone.  
  
His face didn't change, the smile never faltering once. The sparkle slipped from his eyes, however, and the blue seemed now a little dead despite the life he now had.  
  
"Where's the Master Sword?" he asked, turning to Kiron.  
  
Kiron pointed into the ring of flame. "Your otherworlders decided to go inspect things and he trapped them…you might want to get in there and keep them from getting killed," he advised clinically, earning him a sharp elbow to the ribs from the Gerudo girl. He chuckled, rubbing his side. "Good to have you breathing," the general grinned.  
  
Link nodded, smiling. "Good to be breathing," he retorted. He turned toward the ring of flame, eyes going stony. "Protect them," he ordered Kiron. "I'm gonna go get my sword back." With a roar of determination, the renewed Hero of Time leapt through the flames, the fire licking at his skin and clothes, and took off at a dead run toward the conflict at the other edge of the battlefield…where he could see a metallic, faint blue glimmer just waiting for him.  
  
Impa watched the boy run, and then her crimson gaze slid slowly to her Princess. With almost casual, definitely deliberate slowness, she walked over, sat down beside the girl, and slapped her upside the head.  
  
"Impa!" Zelda cried indignantly while Kiron and Kitara tried to stifle a laugh. "What the hell was that for?!"  
  
Impa rapped her sharply again. "Watch your mouth," she growled.  
  
Zelda glared at her.  
  
Impa was unaffected. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she growled. "You did that on purpose."  
  
Zelda turned away, eyes hardening. "You weren't there," she said softly.  
  
"Oh, bugger that, girl. Let me guess…you refused to leave him and got hysterical when he tried to protect you before worrying about himself. Am I right?"  
  
The Princess glared at her some more.  
  
"And quit giving me the look," she said, now sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of Zelda. "It doesn't scare me and you should know that by now. Honestly…" she arched a brow. "I know you care about him, you foolish child," she said, prodding the tip of Zelda's nose. "And I know he cares about you. What could he have said that was so cruel?"  
  
"He said that it was his duty to protect me. Nothing more," Zelda replied, the hurt evident in her clear voice. "Those were his words."  
  
"Oh, bullshit," Impa said, her language and irritation so sudden that it took Zelda quite by surprise and knocked the wind from her indignant sails. "I can tell you for a fact that he only said it to get you to safety."  
  
Saria spoke up when it looked as though the Princess would argue. "Highness, it's true…he loves you deeply. It was his worry and concern for you that convinced him to return to us, before anything. He wanted to protect you…and it wasn't duty talking."  
  
Zelda's eyes went to the ground, angry tears forming. "He hurt me," she whispered.  
  
"And now you've hurt him. You're even. And if you try anything like that again, I swear I'll kick your ass all the way to the Gerudo Fortress, royalty or no."  
  
Zelda knew better than to argue. Impa never said anything she didn't mean. "Yes, ma'am," she whispered meekly. 


	54. Act 4, Chapter 23

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act IV-  
  
Convergence  
  
23  
  
Link darted beneath a precariously hanging column and dove beneath the tail of the huge behemoth that was Ganon, coming up with the Master Sword in hand. Ganon still hadn't seen him yet, and he wanted to preserve the element of surprise. He kept concealed and made his way carefully to where Kate and John were huddled. "Hey! John! Find cover!" he hissed.  
  
John stared. "Link!" A pause. "You're not dead?"  
  
Link cracked a grin. "Not anymore. Now get her to safety!"  
  
John nodded, knowing there was no time to waste and that the Hero would explain everything later at a safer time, and gathered a still-unconscious Kate into his arms, dashing for the other end of the battlefield where Kiron and the others sat.  
  
Link, however, swung the Master Sword in a blue blur, bringing it down with a roar against the behemoth's huge tail.  
  
Ganon roared in agony as the sacred Blade of Evil's Bane bit into his flesh, and whirled, baleful golden eyes widening in absolute shock at the Hylian warrior before him. With a snarl of rage, he swung one huge blade at Link, a blow that would have cut the boy in two had it connected.  
  
Link dodged nimbly out of the way, much quicker to move than the lumbering monster, and clambered up onto his back. Calling forth Din's crimson flame, he watched it flare up around his hands as it had in the dungeon on Death Mountain, and shook his head. It wasn't enough. "Hotter!" he shouted at it, and the crimson flame grew brighter, flames beginning to lick at the Master Sword's steel blade. "Hotter!" he commanded again, and the flames began to snap and roar around the sword. With an approving nod, he reversed the blade in one hand while clinging to the monster's back, and brought it swiftly and unstoppably down into Ganon's back, right at the base of the nearly non-existent neck.  
  
Ganon bellowed in agony, stumbling at the fire that hit when the sword bit through his skin and down into muscle and bone.  
  
Though the blood pouring out and spurting upward nearly blinded the boy, Link gritted his teeth and pushed on, twisting the blade in Ganon's back. He gave it a savage yank, widening the wound and dragging another howl from the beast. More crimson blood flowed out, and Link squinted past the redness to the tendon and muscle he could see surrounding the top of Ganon's spine. He pulled the Master Sword out while Ganon thrashed and writhed, trying to remove his aggressor from his back, and slammed the great blade down once again, severing the tendon and muscle in one sweeping blow. He leaped free, diving and rolling to his feet just out of range of the behemoth's collapse.  
  
Ganon hit the ground, body shuddering violently at the burning pain that refused to stop.  
  
Link walked slowly around to stand before his enemy's face, the goddess's flame still burning around his hands and along the blade.  
  
"Now, boy! Finish it!" Impa roared, hands cupped over her mouth so he could hear her. "He's down! Strike! End this for Hyrule!"  
  
Link's jaw set, and his eyes went hard and cold when they rested on Ganon's own golden gaze. "Rot in hell," he growled at his tormentor, and, lifting the blade, let loose with a roar of unbridled fury at everything, every moment of torment, pain, aggravation…  
  
Everything he'd ever suffered and lost at the hands of the King of Evil. The flaming blade whistled repeatedly through the air, cutting ant slicing at Ganon's face, the fire glowing brighter and brighter with each degree increase of Link's rage. He didn't stop until the light from the fire was so blinding that he was lost inside its angry glow.  
  
When the light finally faded, the last of the flames flickering away, Link had one hand on the Master Sword. The blade was buried to the hilt in the forehead of the Gerudo King, right between his eyes; his huge body seizing and shuddering in his last throes of pain and death.   
  
He gave one last, rattling breath, and was still. Link withdrew the sword, and put its point against the ground. Dropping to his knees, he leaned against it, his forehead against the hilt's crosspiece, eyes closed. The slick coating of Ganon's blood covered him now nearly head to toe, and as his friends watched, Zelda swallowed hard and walked over to stand silently behind her champion. "Link…" she started, reaching out a hand toward him.  
  
"Don't," he said sharply, though his voice shook with the effort to keep everything in check. "Don't touch me."  
  
Whether he shook because the blood or the hurt inside, she wasn't sure…  
  
But the subtle, soft shake of his shoulders as he breathed betrayed him.  
  
Tears were falling from the face of the Hero of Time, cutting clean paths through the red that stained him, dripping on the ground. Zelda bit her lip, wondering how much of the pain was her fault…and knowing that she was to blame for more than she wanted to know about.  
  
"Tell me one thing," he said, voice barely audible.  
  
"Anything," she vowed, dropping to her knees beside him, unheeding of the blood that began staining her own clothes and skin.  
  
He turned tortured blue eyes to her, the haunted, agonized orbs making her want to cry and pull him close and give whatever comfort she could. She held back, though. He sighed, eyes closing for a moment, and when they opened again, the pain in them seemed so deep that Zelda couldn't keep from shedding a few tears of her own as her heart twisted. "I'll tell you anything," she whispered again.  
  
He looked away. "Just tell me it's over," he pled. He bowed his head once more, forehead coming to rest against the sword's hilt. "Please just tell me it's over."  
  
She put one hand over her mouth, her own tears flowing freely as she wept in silent acknowledgment of his pain. "It's over," she whispered. "It's finally over."  
  
----------  
  
A/N: Well, that wraps up Act 4. This is almost done, kiddies! And then it's back to work on my Metroid Prime novelization, which will go up here along with the Fusion one. Hope you've enjoyed Culture Shock as much as I enjoyed writing it, and thanks so much for all the positive feedback! 


	55. Act 5, Chapter 1

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act V-  
  
Restoration  
  
1  
  
It was a long, long two years before the small valley that held Hyrule Castle Town looked even close to normal once more.   
  
Ganon's huge body had been taken to the desert and burned. The ground where his ashes rested had been salted. No one was told where the ashes finally came to rest, nor were all his remains put in one place. Zelda had given specific orders that they be separated into parts and buried all across the desert, so that no one would find them again. The men who had done this had taken an oath that they would never reveal where those spots were, on pain of death for betrayal, should it ever occur.  
  
Link had stayed through the entire rebuilding process, having organized the Goron people to aid the reconstruction of castle and village, knowing that their stoneworking craftsmanship was some of the finest in all the land.  
  
And two years later, when the palace itself was finished, finally rebuilt by Goron and Hylian hands, the Hero of Time simply…vanished.  
  
He'd walked out of the village's main gate one day, climbed up into Epona's saddle, and simply left.  
  
A panicked Zelda had sent search parties out after him, spending weeks, even months searching for her guardian, but all they ever found was the Ocarina of Time on a small desk in one of the unused apartments in the new palace.  
  
Zelda was devastated. No one could find him anywhere, and the Sages steadfastly refused to tell her where she was, citing Link's own request as the reason they didn't.  
  
He simply didn't want to be found. And no one knew the ins and outs of Hyrule like the Legendary Hero. He'd spent so much time exploring their great land that he might never be found if he did not want to be found.   
  
And so the Princess retreated into those things that she knew best: Audiences with nobles and ambassadors of the other races, the many celebratory events surrounding the new village and palace's completion, the grand balls celebrating the safe return of Princess and company, and the honors given to those who resisted the rule of the evil tyrant.  
  
Zelda threw herself into those events and her daily life with a fervency that left her little time for thinking about the missing Hero.  
  
Though she was certain it was the topic of conversation or at least thought on the minds of everyone else. She couldn't escape - no matter how she tried - the glances and curious whispers that followed her everywhere she went, and as her coronation as Hyrule's Queen drew nearer, she felt the emptiness that had settled when he left growing into a gnawing, angry sorrow.  
  
The night of the coronation came. It was a beautiful, cool night, a light breeze making it even more delightful. The moon was full, thrown into stark relief against the star-sprinkled darkness, the pinpricks of light in the sky glittering like diamonds. Zelda stood on her balcony, looking out into the starry night. "I tried to make you proud, Daddy," she murmured, spending a few quiet moments alone before she would have to go down and take up the kingdom's crown. "I hope I did."  
  
"You did, Highness." 


	56. Act 5, Chapter 2

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act V-  
  
Restoration  
  
2  
  
The Hero of Time stood in Zelda's sitting room. The hood of his cloak was pulled back, and it hung open to reveal his clothing beneath. And instead of the usual green tunic and hat Zelda had grown so accustomed to seeing him in, he stood resplendent in a hunter green doublet of velvet, his long hair left unbound to pour golden down his shoulders. A thin band of dark leather circled his brow, the strands of it tied and hanging beside his face. A feather hung at the end, a bright crimson plume from a desert bird's tail, no doubt, a few beads of blue and gold hanging down beside. "Your father would be very proud of you," he said quietly.  
  
Something inside Zelda felt uneasy at seeing him. She pinpointed what the problem was. He wasn't smiling. She tried a smile of her own, one that didn't seem to want to stay on her own lips. "I'd like to think so," she murmured, her eyes going to the floor as her smile fell away.  
  
"He watches over you still," he said then. "He always has."  
  
She looked back up. There were tears in her eyes. "I m-missed you." The words stumbled from her lips as she fought the urge to cry. "Why did you go?" her voice broke on the last word.  
  
And as her voice broke, so broke his resolve. "Come here," he said gently, opening his arms to his Princess.  
  
That was all it took. She ran to him, burying her face against her protector's chest, the sobs shaking her entire body while she wept. And through it all, he never spoke, simply held her tight while she made his arms her sanctuary.  
  
She thumped one small fist against his chest, angry at him for making her worry, angry at him for leaving, for running when he should have been by her side. "How could you go?" she asked quietly, slender brows knit together in distress.  
  
He placed a finger to her lips to quiet her, pulling her over to a nearby chair where he sat and pulled her down as well. "I had…to think. I needed to be alone, Highness. And I knew if I told you I was leaving, I never could." Link sighed, his eyes still carrying a muted sadness and pain that was a close relative of the pain in his eyes the night he had slain the King of Evil. "I had to do it. I wanted to tell you…but I couldn't. Not without hurting you." He pulled back from her just enough to run his rough, scarred fingers down her cheek, smiling faintly at how she leaned into his hand when he began wiping the tears away. "I knew I'd come back…" he smiled. "Had to be here for your coronation, didn't I?"  
  
Her blue eyes came up to meet his then, her lip trembling for a moment as she spoke. "Will you leave again when it's over?" she asked, and he could see the vulnerability in her eyes. She'd left herself wide open for whatever he might say.   
  
"No," he replied gently. "I won't leave when it's over. I'm here to stay this time."  
  
She put her head down against his chest, greatly soothed by this, though she wasn't sure quite why. Well, that wasn't true. But she wasn't ready to admit it to anyone yet. So far as anyone else knew - even Link himself - they were merely good friends. "I'd like you to stand beside me during the coronation," she requested.  
  
He arched a brow. "The only other people that know I'm back are Kiron and Akana." He thought about it. "Well, John and Kate and Kitara probably know by now. Of course Kiron would tell them."  
  
Zelda nodded. "So not only is Ganondorf gone for good, but I'm being crowned tonight and the Hero of Time has come home. Unless you want to announce that John and Kate got married a month ago - which they will murder you for, and besides, the entire kingdom was there anyway, even though you weren't -"  
  
Link smiled enigmatically. "I was there," he said. "You think I'd miss it? Kate would hunt me down and pull my ears off."  
  
Zelda laughed brightly. "You sneak!"  
  
He nodded. "I've always been good at getting in and out without being seen," he reminded her with a smile.  
  
She nodded. He was that. "Keep that cloak on during the ceremony, and I'll signal you when to remove it…I feel like giving the people a surprise tonight." 


	57. Act 5, Chapter 3

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act V-  
  
Restoration  
  
3  
  
The coronation had gone even better than expected. Link had been beside the throne during the entire ceremony, the hood to his cloak drawn close to hide his face, as Zelda had decided to shock the people with double the good news. He'd been unable to hide the grin at that idea; her wicked sense of humor had always been something to make him laugh.  
  
And when he'd dropped the hood, the huge hall had echoed with the cheers and shouts of the people. The Hero of Time had returned, Hyrule's rightful Queen was on the throne once again, and the King of Evil was gone, never to return.  
  
After the coronation was over, Zelda went back to her apartments and set the crown in her dressing table's drawer, a spot set aside for it.  
  
There was a knock at the door. Zelda opened it to find Link standing on the other side. He smiled and held up one hand, in which was a white rose. "You were perfect up there," he said, and an impish grin stole across his face, making him look like the little boy she remembered sneaking into her private courtyard so many years ago. "When I put my hood down I thought the entire room was going to have a collective heart attack." He paused, as if picturing it. "It would have been funny. For a minute or two." He held the rose out to her.  
  
She accepted it, blushing at the compliment. "Thank you," Zelda said with a laugh. "What kind of Queen would I be if I didn't shock the life from my subjects once in a great while?"  
  
That made Link laugh in return. "Good point, Majesty."  
  
She huffed, stomping one dainty foot on the floor. "How often must we go through that?" she asked, feigning irritation.  
  
"Through what, Majesty?" he asked in too-perfect innocence.  
  
She scowled at him, jabbing the rose in his face. "That "Majesty" thing. I've told you a hundred times you can use my name."  
  
He smiled, just shaking his head. "And I have countered just as often that it isn't my place."  
  
"Oh, bullshit," she snapped, and Link nearly fell over in shock. She'd been around Impa for far too long, in his opinion. "Your place my ass, you've saved my life more times than I can count."  
  
He grinned faintly. "We're up to five," he informed her.  
  
She scowled again. "Stop that," she grumbled. "You're ruining my rant."  
  
He held up a hand. "My Queen, I would do you a disservice by speaking your name so casually."  
  
Her eyes showed the hurt. "You hurt me when you don't," she murmured, the irritation draining away.  
  
Link fell silent. His eyes went to the ground, and he kicked himself mentally. "I am sorry, Zelda," he said, testing the name hesitantly. When he looked up, she was smiling.   
  
"I don't think I've ever liked how it sounded before," she murmured. "But it could work out after all. Come on. Let's go walk in the gardens. John and Kate are going to meet us there for a midnight picnic."  
  
He offered her an arm. So much more he wanted to say had died on his lips. It would never work; what could he offer? Link was but a nameless warrior; no land or goods to call his own, nothing he could possibly give could match what she already had. He still saw himself as the unknown kid who belonged back in the forest with all the other unknown citizens of Hyrule.  
  
He didn't know how much Zelda saw in him. 


	58. Act 5, Chapter 4

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act V-  
  
Restoration  
  
4  
  
Kate saw them coming and waved, smiling brightly as she stood and pulled John to his own feet. The pair had been married a mere month before Zelda's coronation, and now seemed to be on cloud nine. They'd become fast friends with the Princess - no, Queen, Kate reminded herself - of Hyrule, and of course Link as well. A crisis had a way of binding people together.  
  
"Oh, don't get up," Zelda said. She never had been good at the whole sovereign respect thing, and it made her uncomfortable when people bowed or got up when she came in the room. She hated it and was seriously considering imposing a law banishing such treatment. But, as Kiron and Akana had reminded her repeatedly, if she did that, people might lose respect for the crown. And Zelda didn't want that. Not after everything that the land had suffered to keep the crown in the right hands. "Sit back down. We're friends, remember?"  
  
John chuckled. "You still happen to be a Queen, you know," he reminded in amusement. "That title lends itself to certain occurrences when you walk in a room. Or out of a room, anyway," he said, peering up at the sky.  
  
"The stars are bright, tonight," Zelda replied, by way of a change of topic. "It's almost like they were waiting for us to bring him down."  
  
"Something tells me we may have had a little holy encouragement," Link said, cracking a bemused grin. "The Goddesses didn't like him anymore than we did." He rubbed the back of his neck as he sat down. "That's why they threw me in the middle of all of this."  
  
Kate smiled. She had her own suspicions. And they were on a track that was miles from Link's.  
  
"So you're like…go-for to the Gods," John teased.   
  
Link nodded. "Sometimes it's a pain in the ass," he growled. "Getting killed is not one of my favorite hobbies."  
  
"If it makes you feel any better," Kate chimed in, "we didn't like watching you get killed either."  
  
"Thanks so much," Link muttered wryly.  
  
Zelda slapped his arm. 'Be nice."  
  
Link stared at her. "In case you forgot, they were the ones mocking me."  
  
She nodded, an enigmatic smile on her face. "I know."  
  
Something tiny and red glowed in the air like a firefly bobbing on the evening breeze. Kate blinked. "Anybody else see that?"  
  
Zelda nearly went cross-eyed when a smiliar blue light bobbed up into her face. "Apparently." She swatted at it, shaking her head to clear her vision.  
  
Link blurted out a startled curse when a green light singed his ear. "Ow!" he took a swing at it.  
  
Similar tiny lights were flaring up all around them, little balls of red, blue, and green light were dancing on the gentle wind, swirling around the quartet as they gathered in number and size. The wind kicked up, creating a miniature, multi-hued cyclone, the eye of which protected the four Hylians - for that was how John and Kate saw themselves now - from the swirling wind and light.  
  
Just when it seemed that the wind could grow no stronger, when the lights were no longer little glowing beads of color but merely streaks of ruby and emerald and sapphire, the lights began seeking out others of their color. They combined to create three glowing orbs of light: One red, one green, one blue. The lights formed themselves, then, into three figures, all female.  
  
"Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Link said as they all got slowly to their feet.  
  
"If it's what I think I'm seeing, then yes," Zelda replied.  
  
"Oh, good lord, girl," the figure in red snapped irritably. "Don't get all google-eyed."  
  
"Anybody feel like explaining?" John asked curiously.  
  
Link glanced sideways at him. "Be nice, Johnny-boy," he quipped, using one of Kate's nicknames for him, "you're in the presence of deity."  
  
"Well, deities," the figure in green corrected. "There are three of us, after all."  
  
"I think they can see that, Sister," the one in blue said gently.  
  
"I am Din," said the one in red. She was average height, and wore a simple gown of flowing crimson, her hair tied back and flowing down her shoulders in vibrant red waves. Her ruby gaze was penetrating, carrying strength untold behind it. "Goddess of Power."  
  
"I am Farore," said the one in green. She was very tall, and wore a simple swordsman's garb; flowing shirt of palest green, with dark brown doeskin trousers and leather boots. Her hair was long and straight, and hung unfettered down her back nearly to her waist. Her emerald eyes, though somewhat less challenging than those of her sister, carried their own hint of power, along with a certain cosmic amusement and hint of mischief. They sparkled as she smiled and cast a polite bow to Link and Zelda. "Goddess of Courage."  
  
"And I am Nayru," said the third, the one in blue. She was a tiny figure, seeming barely five feet tall, and wore a loose, flowing gown of bluish white, something more fitting to a scholar in Greece than a Hylian goddess. Her curling hair was bound atop her head with a simple cord, strands of it hanging curled in her young-looking face, and her wide, bright blue eyes were set deep and apart, giving her the appearance of youth, though her eyes spoke knowledge beyond her apparent years. "Goddess of Wisdom."  
  
Link dropped to one knee, yanking John with him when he didn't move right away. He knew Din's temper, for it had come down on his head a number of times in his life, and he hoped to spare his friend the migraine.  
  
Kate had better sense, and curtsied elegantly in unison with Hyrule's Queen.  
  
"What brings you to our plane, Holy Ones?" Zelda asked curiously. "If I may ask."  
  
Farore smiled, albeit somewhat wickedly. "We wanted to visit. Oh, and congratulations, you two," she said, giving Kate and John a grin. "'Bout time you two got hitched."  
  
Nayru sighed. "Oh, Farore, don't tease them so," she said, at seeing how red John's face got.  
  
The Goddess of Courage merely laughed musically.  
  
"Nice use of the fire, boy," Din said to Link. "I must admit, when I sent that gift to the Great Faerie for you, I wasn't sure how much help it would actually be. But you put it to good use." She smiled somewhat viciously. "Went right through the tendons, didn't it?"  
  
His answering grin was just as evil. "Butter," he growled, eyes gleaming.  
  
"Oh, lord," Farore sighed. "Don't get her started, she's been bragging about that fire of hers for a bloomin' year."  
  
Kate stifled a giggle.  
  
Nayru shook her head. "I had hoped my dear sisters would actually get to the point of our visit, but it looks as though they might be here all day if I let them keep going, and we have matters that we must attend to." She turned her gaze to Zelda. "We have come to bestow a gift upon our champions," she said, smiling when the Queen nearly fell over. "Whatever you request, we will give. We know that you would never ask for anything that wasn't right."  
  
Zelda thought about it. "The one thing I want more than anything…is to have my father back."  
  
Farore sighed, stepping forward to lay a green-glowing hand on Zelda's shoulder. "Unfortunately, we aren't allowed to change the laws of nature. As vile and evil as it was, Jiro died by man's hands, not by Fate. And even that is the natural order of the universe."  
  
Zelda had held a suspicion. "I understand. I had to try, though," she said, smiling falteringly.  
  
Farore nodded, pulling her in for an embrace. "I know. We will, of course, send your love."  
  
"Thank you." Zelda thought on it. "Other than that…I have my kingdom back…my people are happy and rebuilding their lives…and I'm surrounded by my friends and comrades. What more could I ask for?"  
  
Nayru smiled gently. "Our trust ever remains with you, Princess of Destiny…it's good to see you prove us right." That compliment of such high regard from a deity made Zelda blush and curtsey again.  
  
Once Zelda had straightened, the Goddess of Courage turned to Link. "I knew I was right when I had my eye on you," she said, and bent to place a kiss on his forehead, much to his embarrassment. Link rubbed the back of his neck, the tips of his tapered ears turning as red as Din's hair. Farore laughed. "I think I know what you'd ask me for…well, one of the things." She arched a brow and Link knew, without knowing how he did, that she was thinking of Zelda. He coughed.  
  
Nayru laughed.   
  
"But since this is supposed to be his request," Din said, stepping in, "I'm assuming my sister will decide not to embarrass you."  
  
"Of course, of course," Farore said, holding up her hands in defeat. "Ask away, kid."  
  
Link looked at the ground, his blue eyes deeply thoughtful while he considered it. "I know…you can't bring people back…cosmic laws and all…but…can I see my parents? I want to meet them, talk to them…I never got to in this life…can they be brought back for just a few minutes?" he asked, a light of hope barely visible on his face.  
  
Nayru smiled. "I think that can be arranged, Hero," she murmured softly, and stepped back. She turned, walking away from the small grouping, flickering and vanishing completely.   
  
Silence descended, long moments passing before Nayru returned. When she did, there were two figures, a man and woman, walking alongside her, their forms slightly transparent and surrounded by soft golden light. As they came into the light cast by Hyrule's trinity, they seemed to solidify, as if becoming real.  
  
Link stared.   
  
There was no question but that these were the two who had brought him into the world. And Link was every inch his father's son. The same angular, deep blue eyes, same stern cut of jaw, it was all there. It was clear, however, that he had inherited some of the softness from his mother as well, for his face was not as seemingly chiseled from stone as that of his father.  
  
"Look at that, Meri," the man boomed in a voice much like Link's own. "When she said we were coming to see our boy, I thought she was kidding. But…"  
  
Link stared some more. One hand went out. "F-Father?" he whispered, voice choked off.  
  
"Lucas, he's grown so quickly," Meri murmured back. "So straight and tall…"  
  
The Hero of Time's hands were shaking as he reached out toward his mother.  
  
"Come here, my boy," she said softly, her own eyes shining, and reached out, taking his hands in her own very real ones, and pulled him in for a tight hug.  
  
Kate and Zelda took turns sniffing quietly as Link's mother stood and held him in the tight embrace, though he stood taller than she by a good six inches. There wasn't a dry eye in the small courtyard as this went on, and even nature's sounds of night seemed muted in respect for the reunion.  
  
Finally, Link pulled away, smiling down at his mother with shining eyes.  
  
"Don't just stand there, boy," his father grumbled, and yanked him over by one arm to throw him into a huge bear hug and pound his back while Link laughed. He hugged his son and laughed right along with him, finally pushing him back to give him a once-over.   
  
Link suddenly felt very self-conscious.  
  
He was, at least, clad in something more comfortable than the rich velvet he'd worn at the coronation. He wore a tunic much like his old green one - which had been shredded in the battles with his darker half and Ganondorf - but in spotless white. The leather band was still at his brow; he'd opted to leave the hat behind.  
  
Lucas looked him over and then smiled. "You've done us proud, son."  
  
"I knew there was something special about you the first time I held you," Meri said then, coming to stand beside her husband. "A sense of destiny, somehow…you would do great things."  
  
"I didn't know you'd save the world," his father muttered, turning to give the Goddess of Courage a sour look, "because someone didn't give us all the details."  
  
Meri slapped his arm. "Let it be, Lucas, you've given the poor girl nothing but grief for the past five years."  
  
He laughed, and then looked around. "Introduce us to your friends, son," he instructed.  
  
The Hero of Time blinked and slapped his forehead with one open palm. "Of course," he said, making a face. "Smooth one. This is John and Kate Callahan. They…didn't used to be from around here."  
  
"Another world," Kate explained. "Portal. Boobytrap. Ganondorf."  
  
"Ah," Meri said, heading over to give Kate a hug, and John one afterward, while Lucas stayed back, shaking hands the entire way.  
  
"They saved my life a couple years ago," he told his parents. "Ganondorf had set a trap for me that shot me into their world. They risked everything to get me back here in one piece."  
  
Meri gave them another hug, causing Kate to laugh a little. "You kept my son alive? Thank you both."  
  
Kate smiled. "We were physicians on our world," she explained. "It's what we do."  
  
"This place needs more such as you."  
  
Link, however, had turned to face Zelda. "This, I'm sure you've guessed, is Zelda, Queen of Hyrule."  
  
Zelda curtsied politely. "Your son is one of the greatest this land or any other has ever seen," she reported, tossing Link a gaze that was filled with admiration, honor, even…love.  
  
And, of course, being who he was, Link missed it completely.  
  
Meri smiled and turned, curtsying politely to Zelda before sweeping her up in a hug as she had done with the others. "He thinks of you all the time," she whispered in the girl's ear. Zelda turned bright red, and Link was beginning to suspect that he was glad he hadn't been able to hear what his mother said.  
  
Lucas bowed deeply to the Queen. And then he turned back to Link. "Come here, boy," he said, pulling him away from Zelda and his own wife by one arm. "She's cute. What's taking you so damn long, boy? You talk about her non-stop."  
  
Even as his ears began to turn red again and he fought to ignore the sniggers from his friends, Link glared at his father. "Did we have a title or a kingdom or a duchy somewhere no one has told me about?" he asked acidly.  
  
Lucas shook his head, staring at his son. "What the hell has that got to do with anything?" he asked blankly.  
  
Link scowled. "I can't ask her. I'm a nobody."  
  
"Have you lost your mind, boy?" Lucas hissed, dragging his son father away from the circle. "What the hell does title have to do with anything?! Do you love the girl?"  
  
Link stuttered, his ears turning red for the third time that night.  
  
"Well?" Lucas prompted stubbornly.  
  
Link stared at his feet. "More than anything," he finally admitted.   
  
"Then get your ass back over there and tell her. And make sure you ask the right question."  
  
"I can't…she's a Queen, Father. How could it work? What could I possibly give her?"  
  
"You know, I asked that same thing of myself when I met your mother," Lucas replied, his eyes going thoughtful as he stared into the night.  
  
"And?"  
  
"My father had this exact same talk with me," he said, cracking a grin. "And you know what he told me?"  
  
Link was wary, and his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he waited to be cuffed again. "What?" He finally bit the hook with some trepidation.  
  
His father smiled, and this time it was sincere; not the teasing grin of earlier as he laid one hand on his son's shoulder. "He told me that the best gift you can ever offer to the woman you love is your heart. No jewel, no throne, no crown, no title can compare to the thought that you've given her your heart."  
  
Link sighed, ears red. "That's great…but mother wasn't royalty."  
  
Lucas smiled fondly. "Maybe not technically…but she's always been my Princess."  
  
Link glanced up at his father. "You really think it would work?"  
  
"Are you blind, boy? Can you not see how she looks at you?"  
  
Link gave him a blank look.  
  
It was Lucas's turn to slap his forehead with one palm. "Please tell me my wife didn't give birth to an idiot," he growled, much to Link's embarrassment and once-again red ears. "Link, she adores you…and I'm almost sad that I'm dead and I can see it easier than the one who it's right in front of every day."  
  
Link stared at his feet again. "I'd always hoped…but I convinced myself that I was always reading too much into it.  
  
"Not even close," Lucas confirmed. "You're not just a guardian to her, you know. You stopped being just a guardian a long time ago, from the looks of things." He sighed. "So I'm going to ask you to do something for me."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Go into town tomorrow, to the jeweler's Ol' Breggan still working in that shop?"  
  
Link nodded, smiling. "He'll never die, at this rate."  
  
"Good. Tell him you want the pendant made like the one he made for Lucas thirty-two years ago."  
  
"I'll just tell him I want the one he made for my father," Link said, grinning now.  
  
Lucas smiled and threw his son into a huge bear hug. "That's the spirit…looks like it's time," he said quietly. "Come on," he put an arm around his son's shoulders and together they ambled back into the circle.  
  
There was a questioning look on many faces. "Man to man talk," Lucas said sagely, and as his wife muttered a few choice words under her breath - for she knew exactly what they'd spoken of - the others laughed and put it from their minds.  
  
Meri made her way over and wrapped her arms around her son in one last, heartfelt embrace. "You've made me proud, my boy," she murmured.  
  
"Meri," Nayru said softly, "It's time to go."  
  
"I know." She pulled back and laid one hand against Link's cheek. "I love you, my son," she told him.  
  
"As do I, boy," Lucas said in his gruff voice.  
  
Link nodded. "I love you both," he called after them as Nayru walked them out of the circle and they vanished. He wanted to shout after them…something…but there was nothing else left he could say.  
  
He watched them go, in the slience that followed their departure, an odd mixture of sadness and elation hitting him squarely in the heart.  
  
"I would say that was an adequate visit?" Farore asked.  
  
Link nodded, his throat tight. "Thank you," he murmured.  
  
"We must depart," Din interrupted. "We'll be keeping our eyes on you children, though. So behave."  
  
Farore laughed, and together the two of them walked away.  
  
The quartet of Hylians watched after the departing deities until they had vanished once more, and then Zelda turned to Link. "Are you all right?" she asked, resting one hand on his shoulder. Sometimes a gift could be more taxing than one knew.  
  
He nodded, turning to face her, and covered her hand with his. "Yeah," he replied, a reassuring smile on his face. "Everything's fine." 


	59. Act 5, Chapter 5

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act V-  
  
Restoration  
  
5  
  
Two weeks had gone by since the unearthly visit from Hylian deity, and Link was on his way back to that jeweler's shop. He walked in the door and the grizzled blacksmith-turned-jewelry-maker grinned at him from his forge. "It's ready, young sir," he said, and reached down behind one of his shelves to lift a bundle wrapped in blue satin onto the counter. The satin was pushed aside to reveal a chain of deep sapphire beads with a silver rose - hand-created with chisel and hammer - in the center. It seemed burnished, almost glowing with a life of its own.  
  
Link stared at it in awe, fingering the two small beads - one blue, one green, sapphire and emerald - that hung from the silver pendant. "Breggan, it's lovely," he said. "How much do I owe you for it?"  
  
Breggan gave him a knowing look. "Is this for the Lady that I believe it to be?" he asked, one busy eyebrow arched.  
  
Link blinked at him. "What? Oh…hm. Yes. I'd be much obliged if you didn't spread that around, either," he said, giving the jeweler a warning look.  
  
Breggan waved him off. "Not a word from me, don't worry. But I'll only keep my lips sealed if you allow me to give you this free of charge."  
  
Link stared at him. "Something like this…no. I can't. It's worth too much."  
  
Breggan planted his huge fists on his hips. "You'll not be able to argue into payin' me for this, lad…the whole countryside has been waiting for a certain announcement since you revealed your return at the coronation two weeks ago. If you pay me for this and people find out I charged you…I'll be driven from business!"  
  
Link couldn't help it. He started to laugh.  
  
Breggan gazed steadily at him, waiting for the laughs to subside. "It's no joke, young sir. No joke. I've heard the threats. The city folk will never buy from my shop again if I charge you for that."  
  
Link just shook his head in amazement. Had he really been so blind? "All right, but I'm going to be back fairly soon with some more work for you to do, and I will be payin' you full price for it."  
  
Breggan smiled widely. "Agreed. Let me wrap this for you." He placed the satin around the pendant once more, and slipped it into a small pouch of radiant blue silk. "And here you are, lad. Goddesses bless you."  
  
Link smiled, thanking him with a nod, and turned to leave the shop, unable to keep from musing that maybe, just maybe…the Goddesses already had. 


	60. Act 5, Chapter 6

A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.  
  
-Act V-  
  
Restoration  
  
6  
  
Link ambled back up the path to the castle and inside, tossing a nod to each of the soldiers on guard duty. He was surprised to find Zelda not on the throne. After asking around, he found out that she was in her private courtyard. A smile flitted briefly across his face as he tucked the pouch into his belt. He decided to try and see if he was still as talented a sneak as he'd been at the tender age of ten years. Link made his way out toward the courtyard, taking note of where each of the guards were that kept watch over the Queen.  
  
He crept around them, waiting for their gaze to turn, and crept silently around them, sneaking his way through her gardens as though he were lighter than air. His feet made no sound on the grass, steps light and sure.  
  
One of the guards near the Queen saw him coming, and Link motioned him quickly to silence with a wink and gesture to the pouch hanging from his belt. The guard nodded and murmured a few words to his companion, who then spoke with the Queen - some nonsense about a change of guard. She agreed; she hated having a personal security squad anyway - and they departed.  
  
Link wanted to crow. It was perfect. He stole up behind Zelda, and before she had so much as seen him, bent his head around and delivered a quick kiss to her cheek, and then jumped backward with a light laugh before she could slap him out of reflex.  
  
She whirled, hand indeed coming up to whap the trespasser, but her eyes widened when she saw who it was. "Link! Don't scare me like that!" And then her brain processed something else. "Wait. Did you just kiss me?"  
  
He grinned and nodded, hands behind his back, the pouch resting in one palm.   
  
Her eyes narrowed. "What for? …Is this some kind of prank?"  
  
He chuckled. "Aren't we a little old for that?"  
  
"And by "we" I'm sure you meant you."  
  
"Ah." He laughed again. "No, no joke this time. Walk with me?" he brought one arm out from behind his back, and motioned for her guards to stay where they were.   
  
She accepted, blushing faintly as she looped her arm around his elbow. "What's on your mind? I haven't seen you much in the past days."  
  
He nodded. "I've been a little busy," he admitted.  
  
"With what?"  
  
"Oh…this and that," he said, sidestepping the question as he led her out into the little clearing where the Goddesses had come those few nights ago. He turned her by the shoulders so she was facing him. "I've got quite a bit that I'd like to say to you," he murmured. "Most of which was inspired by my bull-headed father." He paused, certain he'd just felt an ethereal kick to the rear, and smiled. "And I have to say he was right about all of it."  
  
"All of it? W…Link, what do you mean?"  
  
He held up a hand. "You have to let me finish, Zelda. I have to get this out before I lose the courage to say it."  
  
She fell silent, frowning curiously, a bit of concern in her eyes as she toyed with a strand or two of his hair.  
  
Link couldn't help but smile at the gesture. It seemed as though his father had been right. "Come sit down," he said, guiding her over to a nearby bench. He pushed her down gently by the shoulders and got down in front of her. "I'm not sure how to say this, so I'm going to be blunt. And you can't interrupt me either." He took a deep breath while she watched him curiously. "I've been fighting with something for quite a while now, and it's about time I just put everything out into the open. Zelda, I love you. I have since the first day we met. I knew when I set eyes on you after sneaking into this courtyard that I wanted to be by your side always…but I never said anything. I couldn't help but think I had nothing to offer. Here you were, a princess, destined to be a Queen one day…and here I was…some kid from an obscure forest with nothing to his name but the clothes on his back…" he laughed shortly. "As you can see, I still have somewhat the same opinion of myself as I did then. But my father…when he pulled me aside last night, he decided to thump some sense into my thick skull and said something that really stuck with me. He said that 'the best gift you can ever offer to the woman you love is your heart. No jewel, no throne, no crown, no title can compare to the thought that you've given her your heart.' And…I think I believe him." He withdrew the pouch from its hiding place in his other hand, and retrieved the little satin-covered bundle from it, depositing it in Zelda's open hands, while she stared at him in shock. "So I offer you my heart, Zelda. I don't know what you'll say to it, but you've always been my Princess, whether you realize it or not. Whether you accept it or not is up to you…but I can promise you that I would love you, protect you…I'm yours for the rest of our lives if you'll have me."  
  
Zelda gazed down at the little satin-covered bundle in her hands, unshed tears standing in her eyes, and slowly pulled away the cloth with shaking fingers. When the pendant was finally revealed, her lips parted in a perfect "oh!" of surprise. The burnished silver rose was even more beautiful in the daylight, accented by the deep blue beads, the single green stone at the bottom standing out. "L-Link…it's beautiful," she whispered, throat so tight she could barely speak.  
  
"Only one other like it has ever been made," he said.  
  
Her eyes lit up in recognition. Meri had been wearing it the night of the Goddess's visit. "Link…"  
  
He looked back up at her, and then pointed to the blue and green stones hanging from the bottom of the rose. "One for each of us. Me," he pointed to the emerald bead, "and you," his fingertip rested on the sapphire. "Together."  
  
"Put it on me?" she asked.  
  
He nodded and pulled them both to their feet. After turning her around so he could clasp the necklace, he turned her back around. "Does this mean you'll have me?"  
  
She laughed, unable to keep the tears from streaming down her face. Her eyes were joyous and filled with love. "Of course, you silly ass," she said, laughing and crying all at once, and threw her arms around him, sobbing joyously into his chest. "Of course. Like you said…you and me, together."  
  
The answering grin she saw when she looked up was so wide and brilliant that it was almost blinding. It split his face and made his eyes sparkle. He put one hand on each side of her face and bent his head to kiss her softly.  
  
The infinite tenderness and love in the gesture took her breath away. She brushed a strand of his stubborn hair out of his face and whispered, "To think I almost lost you and you never knew…goddesses, Link, I'm so sorry."  
  
"Hush," he said, silencing her with another brief kiss. "It's over. It's all over."  
  
She nodded, smiling again. "Rule Hyrule with me," she said. "The people would love to have you as their king."  
  
His eyes nearly popped from his head. "Me? A king?! I couldn't ever even get Epona to stay in one place! If I can't get a horse to do what I tell it, how am I supposed to run a kingdom?!"  
  
She laughed musically. "With my help, you goof." She leaned up on tiptoe to nuzzle at his cheek. "You'll do wonderfully, I promise…and I want you there."  
  
He nodded, subdued a little in his reply. "I'll go anywhere you ask me to," he murmured. "I love you."  
  
She shut her eyes, amazed at how right it sounded to hear that. And again, she couldn't believe she'd almost let him go without saying it. "My heart belongs to you. It always has. Yes…I'll have you. For as long as you want to stay."  
  
"Then I'll be by your side for the rest of my life," he warned her.  
  
And in a fit of boyish enthusiasm, he lifted her into his arms with an exultant shout and twirled her around, declaring his heart to the birds in the trees while Zelda laughed.  
  
Somewhere, a bell began to peal, singing its song joyously up into the morning sky. Link had a sneaking suspicion his father had pulled some strings with the timing of the universe.  
  
Zelda had a few suspicions of her own. But she kept them to herself, preferring instead to bask in the love of her guardian, her champion…her Hero.   
  
There would be other threats to her homeland; there always were.  
  
But with him by her side, nothing stood a chance.  
  
They would face each challenge when it came, whether from within or without.  
  
But for now…  
  
All was well. 


	61. Afterward Words From the Author

Afterward - Words From the Author  
  
Well, there you have it. The first ever novel-length fanfiction I've ever written. I hope you've enjoyed it and will keep coming back. There's a sequel to this in the works AND a few unrelated stories - some LoZ, some not - that I've been working on for quite some time now and I would absolutely love to be able to post them here.  
  
So thanks again for all the wonderful feedback and support that I've gotten. My writing muses are finally back in the mood to let me write again, and it feels absolutely wonderful. So keep reading, out there, and I'll keep posting things for you. .3  
  
Andi 


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